Trust
by PXLight
Summary: Apollo's story from the past to the present. Wonder why Phoenix is his idol? What happened after Apollo found the whole truth? And when everything goes awry after the truth comes to light, who will Apollo be able to trust?
1. Routines Kill

_"Tell me... how does it feel?  
How does it feel to stand before Phoenix Wright, the Forgin' Attorney himself?"_

* * *

_"Polly, get over here!" someone squealed with excitement right behind me. "Polly!"_

_A calm spring breeze whipped my hair as I continued to ignore the little pest. I was relaxing quite contentedly on the grass field around other children who were just like me. Of course, I felt as if I was the most mature._

_For a fifteen year old._

_"Polly dammit! Stop ignoring me and get over here already!" A clump of grass was tossed and hit me on the back of my head. Some of the fresh grass went down my crisp white shirt and I stood up to shake it off. I then sat back down again, getting more and more annoyed at the little creep. _

_Next thing I knew, I was bombarded by a rain of grass. _

_I turned around angrily. "What the hell?!" I shouted at him. "And stop calling me Polly! My name's Apollo!"_

_The kid just pointed at me and laughed. _

_"You're such a loser, Polly!" _

_He gave me a raspberry and ran off._

_Stupid kid. _

_To think I was being bullied by a frikin' ten year old. _

_But I didn't care._

_To be honest, I've gotten used to people calling me Polly, but it's nice to pretend to be pissed off at someone every once in a while._

_I continued to sit and relax, surveying the view before me. _

_To be honest, it really wasn't much of a view. _

_Think of it like this... calm field... then polluted crowded city.  
That's what I'm looking at. _

_I watched as the cars passed by the small orphanage building where I and the other children around me resided. Every day, I sat on this same spot by the shade of my favourite oak tree watching the cars, praying that a car will come to the orphanage. _

_And even when THAT happens, the people never adopt me. _

_I've become too old right now and for some reason, the wanna-be parents that did come never picked me, even when I was younger. Maybe it was because of my hair?_

_It was miserable thinking that my own parents would abandon me like this._

_It was torture watching yet another set of parents leave off with some other child. _

_Misery and torture. _

_My life story. _

_I've given up trying to make new friends. I can still remember the times when I was always in search of one. Throughout the course of my life here in this orphanage, I've made tons of friends (though it's pretty hard to believe by the looks of things right now). The only thing is, my friends would always leave me._

_Why?_

_Because they were adopted before I was. _

_While new people come and go, I remained, getting older and older with each passing year. I'm fifteen right now._

_My fifteen years of life were miserable. _

_All I have now is this nice view, this nice tree, and the kid that keeps throwing grass at me._

_First off... most people don't think staring at a highway is a good view, but to me, it gives me hope. It tells me that there is still a chance that there is someone out there willing to adopt me. _

_What false hope._

_Now... this tree, well, it's bound to wither away eventually. Now that I think about it, this tree IS pretty old. _

_It'll probably die before I get out of here._

_Lastly, the ten year old kid that persists on annoying me every single opportunity he has. I don't even know his name! In my inane sense, he is a sort of acquaintance in a way. He is the only one other than me that never gets picked. In other words, he is the only one I've known that has stayed in this orphanage for about as long as I've been here. _

_If only we were friends._

_But who wants to be friends with a creepy violent ten year old anyway?_

_I sighed as I realized that it was getting dark. I proceeded to the orphanage for my dinner and then catch a nice shower, then sleep. _

_And in that time, I was going to realize that there was finally more to life than just this same pattern over and over again. _

* * *

Chapter One: Routines Kill

It's true.

Watch any corny action movie and you'll realize that assassins kill people easier if they find a routine in their target's day. Then they can set up an ambush after being able to predict what their target will do next.

Technically, that would mean that I would make a very easy target for an assassin.

It was dinner time and of course, the people in charge were tending to our wants and needs and the loose discipline in the dining hall. I would sit by myself, but there was usually too many children in the dining hall, so sitting at a table would mean sitting with other children I don't want to be sitting with.

I took my dinner away after wasting 20 minutes of my time standing in line for it. Usually, the dinner isn't really that good, but some days, the dinner is actually rather decent. Today was one of those days. I actually had steak for dinner, which is rather surprising because steak is pretty expensive. I guess one of those health inspector guys was coming tomorrow or something.

Anyways, only the older kids ended up getting the steaks, only because to eat steak, one requires a pointy steak knife. If the evaluator were to see three year olds holding knives, well, that could end up rather badly for Mr. Dundyl, the founder of this 'fine' establishment.

"Apollo." Mr. Dundyl called out to me just before I stepped outside as I usually did. Mr. Dundyl was a rather nice person, but I felt as if I couldn't trust him. He knew about my habit of eating outside every day and usually greeted me on the way out.

"Yes, Mr. Dundyl?"

"Apollo, take care tonight. The health inspector is coming tonight and I don't want something bad to happen, alright?"

"Yes sir."

Before, I was surprised at how much someone like him would be concerned for someone like me, but I guess it's just normal. However, I knew that there was something suspicious about what he had just said, but I didn't put too much thought into it at the time. I just wanted a relaxing night, health inspector or not.

I took my dinner outside to go back under the oak tree. I'm rather used to eating my meals here, even when it's raining outside. If there's some form of weather, I would just bring something along with me to protect myself as I eat. In this case, that was unneeded as the night was peaceful and calm. I just brought a flashlight along with me for a source of light.

I don't know why I like to hang out around this oak tree. I guess it's because I can never get used to being around so many people I don't really know. Maybe it's because I enjoy the peace and quiet the oak tree brings. Otherwise, it just makes a rather nice place to eat every day.

I took out the small blanket I snuck out a while ago from this small crawl space I stumbled upon in the oak tree. I felt around for it and ended up touching a surprisingly smooth root, then the blanket. I really didn't want to get dirty, so I hid a blanket from the laundry basket one day and kept it here since then. I also happened to stumble upon this crawl space in the tree about six years ago when my old friends and I played hide-and-seek. No one could ever find me because I think I'm the only one who knows about this hidden space.

I started to eat my steak dinner, actually enjoying it for once. There was just something in the air that night that made me want to relish this meal. I ate the steak to the bone, almost tempted to lick off the remains of the sauce off my plate. Of course, that would be rather awkward. After thirty minutes of steak, I felt stuffed. I took a sip of my water, but only a sip. The water was frigid cold. I took my steak knife and casually drew my name out in the pool of steak sauce on my plate.

A. P. O. L. L. O.

There.

I smiled to myself because my writing was surprisingly neat for someone using a steak knife to write with. I clutched onto the knife afterwards, surprised at how sharp it really was (no wonder I didn't struggle at all with cutting my steak into bite-size pieces). I then held it as if I was ready to stab it into the ground, but then my flashlight suddenly went out. At the same time, the lights in the building went out as well.

"What? It's curfew already?" I asked myself, but I knew I was wrong. A large simultainious scream emitted from the building, meaning the children in there hadn't been expecting for the lights to turn off. I stood up from my position, concerned as to what was happening. I started to rub my wrist, anxiously awaiting what would come next.

I'm still not sure what happened next.

I suddenly heard a voice I recognised. "Polly!" With that, I heard the footsteps pounding.

Next thing I knew, I felt dizzy.

I collapsed onto the ground, something overtaking my senses.

The last thing I felt was a cold shock on my wrist.

Then a warm splatter onto my face.

Then everything went dark.

A/N: Well, here's my new fanfic and I know it's crap right now, but it's all I can do.

I mean, I really stuck with my other fanfic 'The Literal Turnabout', only because I just finished GK (in English) and I realized that Edgey is nicer than I previous anticipated, thus destroying the fragile storyline I had. Gotta pick up the remaining pieces and start from scratch.

Alright, that's enough about my other fanfic, but for this new one, just wait and the 'excitement' will come. (Umm... excitement is said loosely.) I'm also pretty sorry that Apollo is such an emo kid, but that's just what I think he was like back then...


	2. Interrogation

_"Wh-what… I-I can't believe it. Y-You couldn't have?"_

_"Couldn't have what?"_

_

* * *

_

_Lesson 1: The world revolves around the Sun._

_Everyone should already know that. You kinda learn that kind of thing back in grade 1 where they teach everyone about the solar system with those giant books with overly large words with demented picture to accompany it. They treat first graders as if they were all blind or in serious need of glasses._

_Lesson 2: The world does not revolve around you. _

_If you know the Earth revolves around the Sun, then it gets pretty obvious that you are not what the world revolves around, though most people fail to realize that. Others actually like the fact that the attention isn't on them as they like to stay away from the eyes of others. The ones that are the center of attention are usually the idiots that think the world revolves around them._

_Lesson 3: Some people wish for the world to revolve around them._

_One of those said people would be me. I wish the world revolved around me. Why? Well, it's because I need some attention. I've been ignored all of my life and had only been the little stone no one ever looks at. I'm constantly kicked around and stepped on and serve no important purpose in life other than to blend in with the other stones._

_Lesson 4: There is such thing as bad attention._

_Yup, that's pretty accurate. An alternate lesson could also be 'be careful what you wish for'. Sometimes, there is something known as TOO much excitement.

* * *

_

_I was sitting rather comfortably in a car, enjoying a ride that was escorted by the police. _

_That is what an optimist would say. _

_But I look at the glass half empty._

_In fact, I was in a police car headed over to the Detention Center after I was arrested on account of murdering the ten year old kid who kept throwing grass at me. _

_The thing is… I'm completely innocent._

_Plus, I'm hand-cuffed sitting in the back seat rather enjoying the view outside (as I haven't been into the city very often) but suffering from the smell of the seat and the smoke emitting from the crap cigarette the driver was using. The seat smelled of drool, drugs, blood, smoke, and any other nasty things one would find in this unholy seat._

"_Hey kid!" one of the police officers at the front, the one driving to be precise, grunted at me._

"_My name's Apollo." I snarled back. He pisses me off. _

"_Whatever kid." I could tell that he rolled his eyes with that statement, which pushed my buttons even more. _

"_Shut up!" I growled at him. "I hate this damn car! I don't deserve to be in here! Let me go dammit!"_

_The police officers just laughed. _

"_Kid, you know that there are a ton of witnesses that saw you in the act. You killed a boy only 5 years younger than you in cold blood. You deserve to go to jail."_

"_You don't have a shred of proof other than a bunch of liars!" I retaliated. _

"_That's what you think!" the police officer beside the driver stated. _

_The car stopped at a red light, in which the driver and the other police officer started whispering something to each other. The driver's partner then pulled out a pair of gloves and took something out of the bag by his feet._

_Next thing I knew, he was pointing a knife at me._

"_You're going to kill me now?" I asked with a surprising lack of fear in my voice. I felt calm, as if some other being took over me. Normal people should be scared. _

_I guess I'm not normal. _

_Either that or it's the adrenaline again._

"_If you're going to kill me, I welcome it." I continued. "No one is going to miss me anyway because no one cares."_

_The police officers up front laughed. _

"_You think that we're going to kill you?!" one of the officers laughed hysterically. "Take a look at the knife kid! Maybe you'll recognize it."_

_And because I couldn't do anything else, I did look at the knife._

_And that's how I came to recognizing it. _

_The knife he was holding was the exact same one I was holding a couple of hours ago. It was the steak knife I was using for dinner. The blade and hilt was covered in blood and on the hilt, most likely, were my fingerprints. _

_I remained quiet. _

_I knew that this was the decisive piece of evidence the prosecution was bound to use against me. _

_But I swear! _

_I didn't do it!_

_The police officers at the front just laughed at my silence. They were probably able to guess what I was thinking at the time. _

"_See kid, this is how we know you're completely guilty, so just give it up. Stop trying to prove your innocence and make the world's life much easier." _

_I glared at him, but I didn't dare say anything. The driver and his partner just ignored me and as soon as the stoplight turned green, we continued our rather silent drive to the Detention Center where they were to contain me until my trial which was bound to put me in jail for murder. _

_I felt like the world was against me and I was the last man standing. _

_Only I knew the truth about everything..._

_Okay, only part of it, but what I do know was that I wasn't the one who murdered that ten year old boy. _

_Eventually, the car made it to a stop and I was escorted to the gray building in front of the parking lot where the police car I was just in was sitting. _

_We finally arrived at the Detention Center.

* * *

_

Chapter 2: Interrogation

I was put into a rather lonely room. The interrogation room, as most would call it. If I were to make a name for it, I would call it the Isolation room. Besides the detectives that came into the room, the only thing that gave me company was the mirror showing a reflection of myself. Of course, like in all crime dramas, that was a one-sided mirror which provided a boundary to the other room where people watched my endless torture.

I sat down on a cold metal chair in front of a grey metal table. Everything around me felt cold and grey. There was nothing there to cheer me up, but rather to torture me into revealing 'the truth'.

I glanced over at the mirror on one wall beside me, I stared at my reflection. I looked beat up and my hair was drooping, which was the perfect way to also describe how I was feeling. Despair was written all over my face as a seeping darkness managed to cover my entire image.

I instantly remembered that there was probably someone behind that very mirror right now, so I waved meekly at them.

As soon as I did that, the door burst open and the first detective came in.

And so the endless hours of torture, repetition, and boredom began. By the end of this process, I've probably talked to three different detectives, but told them each the exact same story each time. They asked me a bunch of questions and I answered. The people behind the mirror and the people watching me through the security camera above were probably as bored out of their mind as I was.

One strange thing I will remember about this event would be that one detective that did the 'Good Cop/Bad Cop' routine. I honestly believe that it would have had more effect if there were two detectives. The detective doing this seemed to be going through random mood swings because as soon as he first stepped in, he was nice. When he stepped out, then came back in three seconds later (I counted), he was supposedly 'bad'. Yet, even with all of this work, I still ended up telling him the same story trying to claim my innocence, but no one believed me.

Finally, I was called out of the room and put into another room, but this one was different. This one had a window and a see-through mirror with a microphone attached to it. I sat down on one side of the mirror, knowing that this would be my last talk with someone for today before my trial tomorrow.

I waited for a couple of minutes, but no one was there. I glanced down at my wrist in a sarcastic manner, only because I already knew I didn't have a watch. After rolling my eyes, I looked to the window behind me and noticed that it was already dark… around 8, I presumed.

After a couple of minutes tapping onto the microphone and feeling sorry for the guard guarding the door to the way out of this room, someone finally took their seat on the other side of the window.

Once they did, I was actually pretty surprised.

This man looked nothing like the detectives that interrogated me. He had kind eyes and a calming aura that made me feel that I would be able to trust him almost immediately. There was finally something near me that was able to give me a bit of hope. He smiled at me through the mirror and I managed to smile back. He then took out a couple of papers from his suitcase and placed them onto the table in front of them. He began to read them a bit, nodded, then tapped o the microphone to see if it was working.

It was.

The tapping was pretty clear in the silent room.

"Mr. Justice." the man said through the microphone. I nodded in reply. "So… how are you feeling?" he asked me in greeting.

Is that really a necessary question?

There were so many ways you could describe how I was right now. Crappy, sad, disappointed, heavy, garbage, down, frustrated, concerned, like a failure, cornered, hopeless, desperate…

But I said nothing like that.

"I'm fine sir." I replied, pulling off a small smile as I did so.

"Good." the man answered. "But don't call me sir. Call me Phoenix. Or Mr. Wright. Or Nick even, like my friends call me. Just don't call me sir."

"Yes sir… I mean Mr. Wright." I stumbled a bit and I felt my face go red, but Phoenix chuckled on the other side of the mirror.

At least someone was enjoying themselves.

"So Mr. Justice… or can I call you Apollo?"

"Call me whatever you prefer."

"Okay Apollo… so can you please tell me what happened recently?"

I sighed. I was about to start and repeat what I've told to the detectives when suddenly another person stepped into the room and took their place beside Phoenix.

It was a young teenager… I think she was only four years older than I was. Her eyes went wild and she gave me a giant smile when she saw me at the window.

"Nick!" she exclaimed excitedly. "This is the guy I was talking about! You have to defend him!"

Phoenix sighed, but then smiled at the girl. The girl smiled back and then she looked at me with her big grin.

"Hey mister!" the girl exclaimed. "Don't worry about a thing because we're going to get you a 'Not Guilty' tomorrow, alright? Just leave it to us, right Nick?"

I smiled a bit and then noticed that Phoenix had no control over what the heck was going on. He smiled and nodded. "That's right. You have nothing to worry about Apollo."

The girl gasped.

"Your name's Apollo? That's a nice name. I'm Maya Fey and I'm a spirit medium." She then slung her arm over Phoenix. "This is Phoenix, but I call him Nick. He's a defense attorney and the both of us are going to help you, right Nick?"

Phoenix just nodded and I chuckled a bit.

I finally felt a nice calming feeling washing over me. These two people were helping the darkness shrouding me lift away and setting me free.

I finally wasn't the last man standing.

I then told them the story of what happened and the both of them listened intently. By the time I finished, both were rather pensive which caused me to rub my wrist where my bracelet used to be (I just realized that I was missing it). It took a while, but I finally got the courage to break the silence.

"If you think I'm guilty now, you can go. It's not your fault." I said.

That caused Phoenix to snap his head over to me. His stare was intense.

"I would never give up on my clients." he sharply replied. "That includes you."

"Yeah Apollo! That's right! This is our reunion case too, so there's no way we're going to let a rather vague story get to us!" I looked down in utter sadness and humiliation when she said that. As soon as she realized what she said, she gasped. "Not that after that story, I think you're guilty. Nope! Don't worry! We'll find a way!"

"Why did you decide to take my case anyway?" I suddenly asked. "Is it just because you guys met each other up once more after a long time and decided to take this case thinking that it would be fun, or did you take the case knowing that I'm innocent and are dedicated to see the truth in the end?"

If they took my case for their own enjoyment, it could mean risking my life. If these two didn't take this seriously, then I would 100% end up in jail.

Phoenix's eyes bore into my soul even more. Those were some piercing gray eyes. His face became completely serious. "Apollo…" he said slowly. "Be careful of what you say. Like I've mentioned before, we will see this case to the end. Though we did take this case to celebrate our reunion, we also took this case knowing that you aren't the murderer. Don't doubt us like that."

Maya and I fell silent.

I guess Phoenix doesn't become so serious like that too often.

There was a silence that filled the room that went on for well over ten minutes. I couldn't take my eyes off Phoenix's glare as he couldn't take his eyes off me. Suddenly, I felt kind of different again, but ignored it.

Eventually, Phoenix broke the silence and told me to repeat my story to him. By the end of it, he went into his thinking mode once more and I finally took my eyes off of him and glanced over at Maya.

Or at least I was supposed to, but she randomly disappeared. I guess all of this must have become too boring for her.

After a couple of minutes of thinking, Phoenix yelled out "Take that!" which scared the heck out of me. He then presented me with something from his bag… a piece of paper with someone's testimony on it. Upon closer inspection, I realized that it was Mr. Dundyl's testimony.

"You're lying to me Apollo." Phoenix explained. "Before I came here, my assistant and I did a bit of investigating first and we talked to the one in charge of supervising the people at your orphanage. We know that you don't usually eat at cafeteria but rather on your own outside under that oak tree."

He then pulled yet another thing out of his bag and I gasped in surprise.

"H-How did you get that?" I gasped. "Th-That's mine…I just l-lost that today…"

"Just asked I suspected." he replied. "You see… I found this under the oak tree today during my investigation. After what you've just said, it means that you can't deny the fact that you were under that oak tree. This also means that you were at the crime scene at the time of the murder!"

"You can't prove that I left it there at the time of the murder!" I retaliated.

"It must've fallen off when you were shocked by the murder!" Phoenix argued.

"But that's not possible!" I replied harshly. "That bracelet was made to shrink down to the size of its owner's wrist. There's no way it could've just fallen off like that unless you put it with something cold. I don't remember anything cold at the time!"

"Objection!" Phoenix exclaimed. He then showed me an empty glass with a piece of grass in it. "This was the cup you were using for your dinner at the time and we found traces of cold water in it. Admit it! The only time the bracelet could've fallen off was during or after your dinner. You had cold water for your drink at dinner and that water must've spilled onto your wrist, causing the bracelet to expand and fall off… most likely when you fell unconscious!"

He has a point.

Wow was this guy as sharp as his hair.

I gasped sharply and bit my lip in surprise. Thank goodness that I didn't bite too hard because I hate blood. My hair drooped even more and fell on the front of my face. I then tried to recover, but ended up blushing in embarrassment. Phoenix smiled at me, success welling up in him.

"Give up Apollo. Tell us the truth this time. What really happened?"

"What do you mean 'tell us the truth this time'?" I asked. "I've been telling the truth this entire time. I just managed to slip up there."

Phoenix then started to look at me intently, as if he could see something I couldn't. The thing was, I really was hiding something. I was hiding the fact that the steak knife was mine and that I was using it for dinner. I mean, if I told them that, then what would they think of me? I figured that they wouldn't trust me anymore if they found out that the steak knife belonged to me…

I still wasn't sure if they trusted me completely.

Suddenly, Phoenix pulled something out of his pocket after frowning at me. It was as if he was disappointed at me. The thing from his pocket flashed a brilliant green, but I wasn't sure if it was real or if it was just me because just as soon as the green light came, it disappeared. Phoenix had immediately put it back in his pocket.

At that moment, the atmosphere around me had changed. I felt as if we were in darkness and it was a one-on-one, me versus Phoenix. I also had this strange sensation as if someone were peering into the very beings of my heart. I can feel a sort of pressure emitting from the lawyer's aura, piercing into the secret I've been hiding from him.

"Apollo, I know you're still hiding something." He said slowly, making sure to enunciate everything.

"What's with this strange atmosphere?" I asked him almost immediately. I was scared.

Phoenix just smiled in return.

"Apollo, you claim that you aren't hiding something, but I know you are. I can see the psyche-locks upon your heart."

"Psyche-what?" I asked. What was he talking about?

"Apollo, tell me what you're hiding!"

"I-I'm not h-hiding anything!" I stuttered. I immediately felt nervous, as if I wanted to spill the beans. I wouldn't let myself reveal the fact though.

Phoenix sighed in disappointment. "Fine. I see you still don't trust me. Let's start from the top then. Apollo… what did you have for dinner?"

That's when I realized that he was onto me.

"Why do you need to know?" I countered. "It's not like it matters!"

Phoenix didn't even flinch. "I'm sorry to say this Apollo, but in fact, what you had for dinner is really important to this case. This shows what you had for dinner!" He then took out the plate I used for dinner, expertly preserved. The steak bone was still on it and the name I wrote down in the sauce was still on it.

Wow did I make his job so easy.

"If you look at the T-bone steak bone and steak sauce on your plate, it's obvious that you had steak for dinner!" he exclaimed.

I was abnormally shocked. I could feel one weight being lifted from my heart, but there was still some more. Now part of myself started to trust the man in front of me even more and that part urged him to lift the weight off of me. The rest was still restricting the action of revealing everything.

Phoenix sighed. I heard him mutter something like "There's still more Psyche-locks…" or something like that. "Apollo, I now know that you've had steak for dinner and fortunately, this leads us to our next lead to the truth. Because you've eaten steak, it's obvious that you need something to eat the steak with… this!" He pulled out the bloody steak knife.

I was seriously surprised.

How did he know so fast?

But I wasn't about to give up.

"What about that steak knife?" I asked. "That could belong to anyone…"

"Yeah... you're right." Phoenix replied without any hesitation. "But this knife, the murder weapon, has YOUR fingerprints on it."

Oh snap.

"NO WAY!" I exclaimed, biting my lip with my eyes wide in surprise.

I felt all the weight disappear and suddenly, I felt tired. The strange atmosphere finally lifted and the world felt as if it began spinning once more after stopping for those few minutes.

"Apollo, this is your steak knife, isn't it?" Phoenix asked slowly.

"…Yeah. You figured it out." I admitted. "But just because it's my knife doesn't mean I used it to kill the ten year old! You've gotta believe me!"

There was a silence that hung in the air after that. Phoenix looked at me after looking down for a while. Then, through the microphone, he whispered, "I believe you."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Don't worry about it. I can now see why you hid this important fact from me. You thought that as soon as I found out, I would think you were the killer…"

He looked up at me to see my shocked face. The guy managed to figure out my thought process just like that. He's amazing!

"That's pretty accurate." I replied, smiling a bit in awe.

"Well, don't worry about it. Though as soon as that fact is revealed, most will be lead to believe that you are the killer, but I agree with you. Just because you own the knife doesn't mean that you are the killer. Someone could've used this fact to frame you. That someone is the real killer. Now we have to see who that decisive someone is… and you need to help me do that. Now tell me everything you know and I'll see how much I can do to help you."

I took in those words as if they were the key to saving my life. "Yes sir!" I exclaimed happily. I even gave him a mock salute and he laughed. I laughed along with him.

That's when Maya stepped back in.

"Why are you guys laughing?" she asked with a dumbfounded look on his face. "What did I miss?"

She took her spot beside Phoenix and her and Phoenix listened to me reveal everything I knew about the orphanage, the hiding spot behind the oak tree and the smooth tree root, and what Mr. Dundyl told me before I went to my spot under the oak tree.

As soon as I told him this, I realized something very important.

I knew who the killer was.

Needless to say, the next day, Phoenix managed to pull off a dramatic win in the trial tomorrow. Mr. Dundyl was found guilty of the murder and of framing me. Phoenix and I found that Mr. Dundyl's motive to kill that ten year old boy was to get more people to come to his orphanage because apparently, people would want children who were in danger. Those people felt that they were saving the children from some evil fate… like murder. Also, Mr. Dundyl probably wanted to get rid of the guy ruining his lawn (throwing grass all those years). He hid behind the oak tree watching me eat dinner. He had drugged my water, so as soon as I sipped, I fell unconscious. He then took my knife and, with gloves on, stabbed the ten year old who stepped outside at the last minute to mock me once more.

All three of us celebrated Phoenix's win. He was quite an amazing person to be able to find the truth amidst the tangled leads of that case.

At the end of that, I was let go and was forced to go and return to the orphanage.

The truth is, I had wanted to ask if Phoenix could adopt me. If he were my father, my life would be complete.

Of course, I'm still really quiet and I never asked him… though I have the feeling that he knew that I had something to ask him. He was looking at me as if he were staring at my soul… the same way he did just when he started talking about those 'psyche-locks'. Maybe he could see if I was still hiding something… but who can do that?

I said my final good-byes to the both of them at the train station and rode off back to the orphanage. I never got the chance to tell him what I wanted to.

But I promised to myself that one day, I would make up for what he had done for me. After I left, that Maya person left to go to this place called Kurain. I saw her board on the Kurain-bound train as soon as my train left. Phoenix was left alone and after staring at the empty tracks, he too left.

I made it back to the orphanage, but on the train, I have decided the most brilliant thing ever.

And that was…

* * *

A/N: After reading this chapter, it's pretty obvious that I'm a lazy writer. This chapter was actually four planned chapters squashed into one. I was too lazy to make four chapters out of this. I'm regret saying this, but I'm suffering from a severe case of writer's block. I haven't been able to think of anything to continue my other fanfic, so I'm taking a break. There also hasn't been much inspiration around where I'm living.

Inspiration: Snow melted more than a month ago (global warming!), the trees are still bloom (meaning that they still look like dead trees with green sprouting all over the place, looking like mould), the flowers still look demented, and it's been raining for a week!

If you're disappointed, I'm sorry. (Yeah, I'm sorry I live in Canada! XD)

Anyways… thanks for reading and I hope you continue to read the upcoming action next.


	3. The Recap

_"I don't see you jumping to my defense on this one."_

_

* * *

_

_Ever since that murder trial, I've always known what I wanted to do in the future..._

_Be a defense attorney. _

_All the time, I used to feel alone in the world. When Phoenix came however, I didn't feel so alone in the darkest points in my day. He helped me prove my innocence, then moved on to help others around him. _

_This is why I want to be a defense attorney. I want to help others like me who've felt alone in their lives._

_For the rest of my life in the orphanage, I looked forward to getting out to pursue my new life dream, glad that maybe, just maybe, my life did have some meaning in the world._

_One day, on the same year as my murder case, I heard news of some defense attorney losing a case and being stripped of his title because of some forged evidence. From there, I realized that there are bad defense attorneys out there who would do anything to win. It was a strangely big thing, but I was never in the loop, so at the time, I only got these details._

_This is also why I did something rather geeky._

_I changed my last name to Justice._

_I did something like that because I would only bring justice to those who deserve it. I would do it honestly too, unlike that disgusting attorney I heard of who presented forged evidence and got caught._

_But of course, that never became official until I got out of the orphanage at the age of 18. Fortunately for me, no one other than myself knew my real last name, so when I had to sign up for some ID, I just put Justice as my last name._

_From there, I went and continued my education... I went to Ivy University with three scholarships behind me, only obtained because I tried insanely hard to do my best in school and get high grades back in the orphanage. Good thing I was kind of thinking ahead back when I was younger. _

_I graduated pretty easily because of the motivation I had. The bar exam was probably the only challenge I had, but I still passed (barely). _

_During university, I finally managed to pick up some nice friends, but of course, we still split up after university. The only thing is, from my friends, I managed to pick up Chords of Steel. Now that I think of it, my friends and I were bullies back then, intimidating figures AND voices. _

_After university, I searched for Phoenix Wright. I never forgot his name because he had saved me from the darkness that resembled my life. I also probably couldn't forget that name because it was just too eccentric to forget. I mean, how many defense attorneys out there are named Phoenix?_

_The only thing is, I felt abandoned in my search. The only reason I kept digging was because I wanted to be Phoenix's apprentice. That would be a dream come true! Unfortunately, even after a year of searching, I STILL couldn't find him. It was as if he dropped off the face of the Earth._

_All I could find of the lawyer Phoenix Wright were all of his old cases. When I was 20, I made sure to study all of his cases and learn from them. Phoenix was an amazing character and I couldn't stop reading the files like a nerd addicted to some awesome book. Soon, I knew all sixteen of his cases (A/N: I think it's sixteen.. correct me if I'm wrong) like the back of my hand._

_I continued to search, even more passionately than ever after reading the cases of this guy. Phoenix was my complete idol now. He never gave up and always managed to flip the case around while ever one seemed to still be figuring it out._

_One day, I had to stop after something rather tragic that I had sent to me from someone who helped me look for Phoenix. It made me remember something back at the orphanage that made me collapse onto my knees as I held the newspaper in my little apartment._

_The newspaper was about that 'disgusting' defense attorney who had presented forged evidence about five years ago._

_That very defense attorney was Phoenix Wright. It made it to the front page of that newspaper. There was the story (written by a lady named Lotta Hart) of him along with a picture of the same spiky-haired lawyer that had helped me years back... even wearing the same blue suit. The lady with him, Maya Fey, was in the background, crying as she was in the crowd watching Phoenix escorted away by police officers._

_I thought that being escorted by police officers was a bit harsh, but then again, it would be rather risky if the attorney's badge were to fall in the wrong hands. As I tried to read the article, I held my very own badge close to me, terrified that I may lose it too. _

_I couldn't bring myself to thoroughly read the article, so all I could do is skim it. I found that some seventeen-year-old prosecutor saw through Phoenix's scheming ways as he discovered the forged evidence (I couldn't bring myself to read what that evidence was). This was a case of a famous magician I've vaguely heard of, but forgot the name immediately after reading the name. The bar of lawyers then declared that, though there isn't really any proof that Phoenix had the evidence made, he did present it and so his lawyer's badge was stripped from him. _

_"Th-there's no w-way." I stuttered as I stared at the picture of him being escorted away once more. My eyes kept flicking from him to Maya Fey. I felt bad for both of them. _

_After this case and after Phoenix had his badge removed, he dropped off the face of the Earth. No one cared about a disgraced lawyer like him. Except me. _

_That's when I knew what my first case would have to be. Phoenix probably felt lonely as I had. Everyone thought that he did it. But I believe in him. He helped me back then, so I plan to help him back. I was determined to find him once more and prove him innocent. There is absolutely NO WAY that it was his fault for presenting that evidence. Maybe he was blackmailed or something._

_But there is also a chance that he did present that evidence on purpose too..._

_"NO!" I screamed in my apartment. I threw the newspaper furiously at the couch behind me and got off the floor. "THERE IS NO WAY HE COULD'VE DONE SOMETHING AS COWARDLY AS PRESENT FORGED EVIDENCE!!!"_

_From there I stormed into my room until I could think logically again._

_The next day, I did a little bit more research on my idol's disbarment. It appears that it wasn't unanimous decision. There was one lawyer, Kristoph Gavin, that believed in Phoenix's innocence. _

_"That's it." I thought. Gavin's law firm was actually nearby and I decided to go and stick with the man that, like me, believed in Phoenix's innocence. I might also be able to get more of the story out of him. _

_And from there, I searched him out and became Gavin's apprentice. He taught many useful techniques in court and I took them in as best as I could, only so I could use these techniques to help my fallen idol up someday._

_By the time I was 22, I finally found my idol._

_I knew, through Mr. Gavin, that I could get to Phoenix Wright. _

_It turns out that they were the best of friends and maintained regular contact._

_Six months before my first trial, Phoenix sauntered in with a grin on his face. _

_"Gavin!" he yelled out into the office. _

_I was doing work in another room, but I was rather surprised with the voice. I didn't recognise the voice at first because it's been seven years since I've heard it. _

_Kristoph Gavin walked towards the door. "Wright." he sighed. "My apprentice and I were working until you disturbed us."_

_Phoenix chuckled. "Sorry." he apologized, but then looked up in thought. He then looked around the empty room and figured that Kristoph's apprentice (me!) was in another room. "Hey Gavin, can I see your apprentice? It's been a while since I've seen a newbie lawyer."_

_Of course, I was already looking over the door frame, trying to get a good look at Mr. Gavin's visitor. I was rather surprised when Mr. Gavin told him "right" as if he were confirming the visitor's knowledge of Mr. Gavin's last name. I'm sorry, but I didn't recognise the man! Maybe if he didn't have that beanie on..._

_"Justice, get out here." Kristoph called out. That's when I walked into the open. Phoenix smirked. _

_"Mr. Gavin, why do you have a hobo here?" I blurted out. I didn't mean to say it... I was just curious after I got a good look at the guy in front of me. He was wearing a sweater, a neon blue beanie, black pants, and sandals! Sandals! First thing I think of is HOBO. Anyone else who I've seen visit Mr. Gavin had been wearing something formal. _

_Then came this guy._

_Phoenix chuckled at my remark and I blushed in embarrassment. My face became as red as my vest. _

_"It's alright Mr. Justice." he replied with a light smile on his face. "I might as well be a hobo after what happened a while back."_

_"What do you mean 'what happened a while back'?" I asked him. Kristoph glared at me for digging deep in his visitor's past and decided to invite Phoenix inside._

_We then sat around Kristoph's coffee table. Phoenix sat like a lump on the couch. _

_"To answer your question, Mr. Justice, I lost my dream job." Phoenix said, trying to smile, but I could see through it. There was a deep darkness that ran through that statement._

_We just sat for a couple of minutes staring down at the ground as Phoenix's words hung through the air. After a couple of minutes, I realized I had forgotten to do something. I got off the couch. _

_"Oh, I'm sorry I never got to introduce myself." I chuckled sheepishly. My hair drooped in front of my face, so I pushed it back up. "My name is Apollo Justice." I held my hand out._

_"Oh yeah, I forgot to introduce myself as well. I'm Wright. Phoenix Wright."_

_He scratched the back of his head innocently. I took it lightly after realized I was shaking the hands of my idol. I was shocked that this fortune would just kindly land on my lap. Phoenix gripped onto my hand as well and shook it well. _

_There was an odd silence that hung in the room once more as the two of us absorbed in this new information. _

_"I swear I've heard of the name somewhere. Have I seen this kid before?" Phoenix thought to himself. _

_"I can't believe it... I just called Phoenix a hobo." I thought while giving myself a mental facepalm. _

_That handshake seemed to go on forever as Phoenix and I were absorbed in our thoughts. In the end, Kristoph broke it up as he was getting annoyed. _

_"Oh sorry." we both said sheepishly. We then let go and carefully sat back down. We didn't know what to say to each other. _

_That's when Phoenix said that he had to go because a girl was waiting for him. At the time, I assumed he was referring to Maya because that's the only person I knew he knew._

_He then left and I had to act as if that were just some casual meeting as I returned to work. However, as soon as I returned to the privacy of my apartment, I screamed in excitement and glee. _

_"He's not dead!" I exclaimed._

_

* * *

_

Chapter Three: The Recap

My debut finally came.

My first trial.

Part one of my chance to defend Phoenix Wright, my idol. (You know, I just realized that my idol is a hobo...)

I mean, there's no way he could've done it! Not him! No way!

I couldn't believe that he wanted ME to be his lawyer... over his friend! In the end, I managed to prove him not guilty, but with the help of him and Mr. Gavin. It turns out that Kristoph was the guilty party... I still don't believe it (man does Mr. Wright choose the wackiest people to befriend).

In the end though, it turns out he was using me. Because I was the only other lawyer he knew in the Gavin Law Firm, he chose me to help him bring Kristoph Gavin into the trial. At the start, I thought that he had remembered me, but I guess he didn't.

The second case then came around.

This is where I will probably start my real story.

You see, this is where I finally became Phoenix's student, my second dream. I wanted him to be my father, but being his student was still great.

All the times I stayed with him and his apparently adopted daughter Trucy, I learned a lot of things.

For one, he wouldn't exactly be teaching me. He wasn't even helping at all but rather just being there as some overseer. In fact, I think I learned more from his daughter and my "enemy" Klavier than I did from him. Then again, a lot of the techniques I used (or rather 'tried' to use) were from his case files which I've read and from what I've learned from Mr. Gavin (which was just basically the ... well... the basics).

Second off, this man really was the same man that had defended me valiantly a while back, though he doesn't seem to remember it. Maybe I'm just assuming that he is the same man... I mean, I've done a bit of searching around and he has his old case files there too. It mentions a woman named Maya Fey many times in the cases, so this led me to assume that the man who is now my 'mentor' is the same person.

Gotta stop rambling.  
But I really needed to get the search thing off my chest... it sounds like I'm some crazy fanboy.

Thirdly, he's changed. The only thing that's probably the same about him would be his passion for the truth. (Yeah, that was probably something off of some cheesy novel I read last week.) Otherwise, he was a lot more laid-back than I remember. I can still remember the experience I've had with him in court. He was nervous, clumsy, and tense. It's like after that case where he lost his badge, he hit the reset button. He doesn't act the same way I remember (or envisioned).

During this case, I remember asking him about him losing his badge.

And that would turn out to be one of the many things I would learn to regret.

"Tell me what happened seven years ago!" I blurted out. I was in the middle of my second case, visiting Mr. Wright yet again in the hospital. He was there after a hit-and-run when he somehow only sprained his ankle. "I want to know. I need to know!"

I'm sorry, but he asked what was going on in my head and immediately after he said that, I remembered how Ema told me that if I want to find out about something, I should inquire about it. And he asked!

"You sure didn't waste any time getting to the point." he smirked.

After that, I became a little bit more relieved. I expected him to suddenly become furious with me for opening a wound. But then again, that kind of behaviour just isn't him.

"Well, I've already begun and there's no turning back." I told myself. I then looked at the man in front of me straight in the eyes, wondering what I should ask first. He just watched me patiently, but I could tell that he was getting more and more uncomfortable with the odd silence of me trying to come up with a question. I wanted this all to blow over with as little questions as possible.

So I asked him the simplest question ever.  
What happened?

"Seven years ago, I was standing in the courtroom on behalf of my client." Mr. Wright stated calmly, without any resistance. "The case involved the death of a certain 'magnificent' genius." At that statement, I couldn't help but think that he was hinting something, but I would figure out what a bit later. "I'd be surprised if you haven't heard of it."

He stopped there for a bit to let me speak.

I was kind of annoyed that he stopped, but I needed him to continue. "...It was all over the news. I remember that." I replied. His beanie then shadowed over his eyes as I continued. "You were up against Prosecutor Gavin, weren't you?"

"...Yes, he was only 17 years old at the time." he responded.

I was shocked. "17 years old?! That's still high school!" I thought. I guess it was easily read on my face because Mr. Wright then explained that he took the bar exam abroad in Europe.

"I was defeated by a 17-year-old newcomer." he continued. "In my shame, I left the practice forever. That's all."

I knew he was lying.  
My newfound power that he helped show me saw through that.  
My bracelet twitched and I noticed that his entire body had tensed up a bit after that statement.

Even Phoenix Wright can't get through me.

"That's all...?" I countered. "How could that be!?" My volume was rising higher and higher with each syllable, but I didn't notice until the last syllable where I realized that my throat was straining, my fist were clenched, and there was a concerned nurse looking over the door frame.

"...What do you mean?" Mr. Wright asked casually. He was just too laid-back for me; it pissed me off.

"What about what they were saying on the news about forged evidence!?" I exclaimed angrily. He stayed quiet, concerned that I knew a bit more about ten truth than he had anticipated. Because he didn't respond, I continued to bring it all back to him. "They say you forged evidence and had your attorney's badge stripped from you!"

The man remained quiet. His eyes were shadowed over once more, a darkness seeming to creep up into the scenario.

There was a silence between us. I looked down at my shoes, calming myself down and immediately regretting my need to find out what truly happened so quickly.

"Tell me... how does it feel."

My head snapped up to look at the man before me. He too looked right into my eyes.

"How does it feel to stand here before Phoenix Wright, the Forgin' Attorney himself?"

I just couldn't believe it. "H-How does it feel...?" I repeated.  
I still remember what ran through my head at light speed at the time.

_Th-there's no way... All this time, I had put faith in him, the man who had saved me so many years ago. I believed that he didn't forge evidence like I've attempted to read. I believed in him. Mr. Wright isn't a dirty man... he fights with honour. Then comes this moment, the moment I've been looking forward to for so long. The moment I would finally here, from Phoenix himself, that he didn't do it. _

But it turns out that I was wrong.

I don't want to believe that it's true!

But then I thought back to what had happened in my first trial. He had given me a bloody ace. If I didn't have that, I wouldn't know how that trial would've turned out because that very card was the one piece of decisive evidence I needed to have the trial go in my favour.

But it turns out that the very card that supported my entire case shouldn't have existed.

While I was deep in thought, Mr. Wright started to laugh. "Ah ha ha ha ha ha ha!" he chuckled hysterically, though I didn't know what was so funny. "I don't see you jumping to my defense on this one..."

But then he trailed off.

"Maybe I forged evidence, maybe I didn't. It doesn't really matter now, does it?"

There's no way I'm going to let him stop it here! "B-but...!"

He cut me off.  
I guess this conversation wasn't going the way I wanted it to.

"I'm not an attorney anymore. ...That's the only truth you need to know." His eyes then shadowed over as they did anytime he wanted to end the conversation, but this time with a creepy smile as if another side of him was trying to reassure me... that everything was fine. Maybe it was just one of his old principles that I read about while in his office. His old mentor would always tell him to smile no matter what.

Guess that's what that smiley side was... his lawyer side.

And I believe that I just called his lawyer side creepy... whoops.

After that, I just left him alone to divulge in his past. I then went out to continue the case and well... you probably know the rest.

It was on the news!  
(A/N: Or rather, it was in the game...)

The next case, well, concerning this story, not much really happened. I mean, technically, I think I learned more about Klavier, his life, and our "connection" than Phoenix.

The fourth case is a different story.

I'll start at the beginning. Mr. Wright had come back from his supposed secret mission. At the time, I had been hoping that he'd finally tell us all about his secret mission and well... these are one of those many times where I should've been careful for what I wished for. He told us that all of this time, his secret mission was actually about the new and upcoming Jurist System. Next thing I knew, I was whisked yet again into another case due to Mr. Wright and his uncanny talent for whisking me into cases I didn't want to do. I had to defend Vera Misham, but this time in accordance to the Jurist System... a test case in other words. This inaugural system's test case would even have a real verdict apparently.

To be honest, I was caught completely off guard when I received the case, but Trucy seemed as if she were expecting this. I guess magicians are supposed to expect the unexpected. Either that or the pudding she was eating had something in it.

Otherwise, Mr. Wright (I'm sorry, but I'm used to calling Phoenix 'Mr. Wright' when I'm talking about a conversation we had directly) just left Trucy and I alone to start with yet another case. Leaving my journal alone, we went off.

Anyways... just skip to the part where Vera suddenly fell into a coma because of atroquinine poisoning.

Trucy and I returned to the Wright Anything Agency, concerned, angry, and other feelings that I can't describe.

"Polly, is Vera going to be..."

"She will..." Though I was honestly doubting that myself. I smiled for Trucy though and she smiled back. "We still have to do our best because she will wake up and when she does, I want her to have a better life than before she fell into her coma." Hearing my confidence, Trucy's eyes gleamed and she smiled. She just grabbed whatever hope I could provide for her.

"That's right! We'll do this for Vera! She deserves it after the poor life she's been having all of this time!"

And so we decided to go outside yet again to start investigation... even though we didn't really know where, how, and what we'd be investigating. We figured that the inspiration would come to us as soon as we stepped outside.

But just before we stepped outside, I noticed Phoenix lounging on the couch.  
I never noticed that someone other than Trucy and I was in here at the time.

He had something clutched in his hand and he had a bag at his feet. I figured that inside was stuff he needed for his 'secret mission' or something.

"Apollo, before you go." Mr. Wright called out. "Just remind me that there is something I need to talk to you about once you come back to drop off Trucy, alright? Remind me."

"Sure thing Mr. Wright." I mocked saluted him. I then went over to my makeshift portion of the office and grabbed something (though it took a while to find it).  
Once I met up with Trucy who was tapping her foot impatiently by the door, I noticed that Phoenix had disappeared.

"Did your dad already take off?" I asked.

Trucy shrugged.

We then walked out the door.

And as soon as we stepped outside of the Agency/Office/whatever, we ran into someone.  
And the reason I say "someone" is because I didn't know the person and now that I think back on it, I don't think I ever will.

That person was actually jogging and we ended up ramming into him on the way out.

"Sorry sir." I blushed in embarrassment as I tried to look at him in the eye. The only thing is, his hood from his hoodie was up and his eyes were shadowed as he got off the sidewalk. I felt as if I knew him, but I couldn't tell. I noticed that he had dropped all of his stuff on the ground and both Trucy and I pitched in to help him regain all of his stuff back. Soon, he was back to normal and, without a word, he jogged off, IPOD in his ears blaring out loud rock music this time (it was so loud, I could tell what song it was and everything).

As soon as he was who knows where, Trucy suddenly pulled on my sleeve and pointed to the ground. "Polly! Look! We missed something. It hid underneath the step!" I glanced underneath the step and sure enough, there was a small rectangular-shaped item there. It was about as large as a video cassette. I picked it up and looked in the direction the man kicked off.

I knew it was for us.

The man had kicked it underneath there so we wouldn't find it until after he had run off. It was obvious because nearby where he was standing, there was a shift of dirt indicating a subtle kick or otherwise.

I examined the newfound video cassette (yes, it turns out it WAS a video cassette). To a normal person, it was just a normal video cassette, but I could tell that this was for myself and Trucy. The Gramarye seal was on it and on the tag read a serial code. There was also a police tag on it, meaning that whatever was on this video had something to do with the police.

I took it back inside where Mr. Wright was waiting. He was just lounging around on the couch, relaxing, though his face looked like it was deep in thought than the relaxed one most would expect from someone lounging on a nice couch. He glanced over at us as we re-entered and smiled.

"You guys were fast." he commented. I smiled back and nodded.

"Sorry Mr. Wright, but I've decided I wanted to check something before we went." I explained. Trucy then came running from the door. I had just realized that I had left her on the street. (How was I supposed to know she was talking to a squirrel...?)

"Polly, wait up!" she exclaimed. "Don't leave me like that!"

"Sorry Truce." I said in a logical tone. My mind was entirely focused on the contents of the video I was holding. For all I knew, this could be stolen I shouldn't be watching this at all, but the stranger we bumped into the street seemed eager to give it to us; he had everything planned.

Both of us went into an isolated room, leaving Phoenix alone to do what he wanted to do. We made sure that the volume wasn't too high so he didn't overhear what was on this tape.

Trucy and I then put the video into the player. She had figured out what I intended to do. I then turned the TV on and started to watch.

And I gasped.

There were three people in the video I immediately recognised.  
But they were all a younger version of themselves.

On the right was a younger Phoenix Wright.  
In the middle of the court which I was seeing now was the supposed defendant with a girl whom I immediately recognised... Trucy.  
To the left behind the prosecutor's desk was a young Gavinner... Klavier Gavin himself.

This was a trial video.

And everyone around me was involved.

I continued to watch it with Trucy who seemed to be huddling with me. She recognised this case. I tried to ask her what it was about, but she was so absorbed with the video in front of her that she couldn't' hear me.

I watched as my mentor blew us away. Phoenix was an incredible defense attorney. He performed with almost the same prowess as he had with my trial.

The only thing is, he seemed to move more calculatedly. I guess experience has made him cocky in a way... but the sight was still something to behold. Almost at the end of the video, he flipped the case on its head with showing that the 'decisive' witness Klavier had brought in was actually more guilty than his client was.

Then, when I expected the video to finish for now, the judge was about to declare an end for the day. I figured that Phoenix must've been relieved that he would be allowed to do more investigation. Suddenly, Klavier objected and presented the diary. As soon as he did that, Phoenix swiftly thought up the counter-piece of evidence.

He pulled out some notebook page which I immediately thought was genuine.

But then the video continued to unravel and I soon learned that the notebook page was the forged piece of evidence Phoenix had presented in the trial that was in the newspaper.

That newspaper.

The article about his final trial.

His FINAL trial.

I finally figured out that this video was of Phoenix final trial... the one that had his badge stripped away.

"Trucy..." I whispered. "This is..."

She nodded. She knew what I was going to say.

I then heard a creak and shut of something. I immediately glanced at the door and noticed something strange.

I don't remember completely closing the door.

I got up and opened the door to see Phoenix still sitting on the couch looking up at the ceiling. I felt relieved that he didn't see the video Trucy and I were just watching because I wasn't sure what type of memories it would bring up.

* * *

What I didn't know was that there was someone other than Trucy and I watching with us.

And he closed the door subconsciously as soon as the video ended.

When I opened the door to look and make sure he didn't see us watching, then go back in relieved, I was wrong.  
Or rather I was wrong to be relieved.

Phoenix had been watching with us from the start.

He was the one who bumped into us when jogging.

He dropped the video of his last case on purpose for us to see it, knowing that we would need to know about it if we were to complete this case.

And as I closed the door at him, he stared up at the ceiling, drowning in the emotions of what happened after that case.

And for the first time since that case, he cried.

* * *

A/N: Don't worry. At the end of this chapter, I just realized how demented this ended up... not kidding. I just thought of the Phoenix crying this last minute thinking it would fit. I realized that my line-up was inaccurate if I did that part BEFORE Vera dropped into a coma. Apollo didn't know anything about Phoenix's trial before Vera went into a comatose state.

And so brilliant improv saves the day.  
But then again, my improv skills have been so bad, I failed a project because of them.

Oh well... I sucked at science anyway.

So... don't kill me for making Hobohodou cry. It's just that he's become too laid-back for me... this is just a way for me to get some emotion from hobo Feenie.

Don't kick me... my shins are sensitive.


	4. Jump

_There is something I must tell you.  
As Apollo Justice has his bracelet... so, too, do I have my own "weapon" of sorts.

* * *

_

_The MASON System.  
My pride and joy. _

_Some people would assume that this was a time travelling machine, but in fact, a time machine like that hasn't been invented yet even now._

_Besides, I'm no genius; how would I be able to build something as difficult as that?  
Plus, I'm supposed to be a lawyer (or was)... not an engineer of any sort._

_The MASON System, though it is of my design (or rather... my idea), is actually something completely different. The technology used in it is so detailed that it is one of the many secrets the government keeps. Only myself, anyone I choose, and a few select others have free access to it, only because these select people played a large role into making the MASON System a reality._

_But as soon as most figure out that the MASON System is actually NOT a time travelling machine, they will then wonder what it is. _

_Well, I would never tell them, but I will tell you._

_The MASON System is basically a movie theatre.  
The users basically jump into an actual film and play as the first person. _

_There is only one way to do this.... and I guess I'm stuck explaining. _

_See... one needs to "film" their life through memory with detail, but secretly so no one notices. As soon as they get to a part they know they cannot solve due to a lack of something, they make sure they have it down on memory tape (which can be recorded by 'hooking up' your brain to a memory viewer), then come over to the MASON System, jack it in, and compile it into a detailed computer. _

_Of course, the system is still in need of upgrades because only the most logical people will be able to figure out what form of videos they need to put into the MASON System. _

_Technically, the videos compiled are like the obtained jigsaw puzzle pieces. As soon as one finally completes in gaining all the pieces (and only they will know), the MASON System finally jumps in, allowing them to relive the moments as the first person once more. _

_The only thing is, now, depending on the time line of the videos, they can jump into the future and obtain knowledge they need to solve problems in the past. _

_And as soon as the person solves the problems, the MASON System will pick this up and literally take the role of the author of your life and give you what would have happened if you solved this before (but this doesn't affect your real lifeline)._

_And because of the program I helped design, this should be rather accurate._

_Of course, you can also fail on successful parts of your life and see what would happen, but who would want to do that?_

_I'm sorry for the really messed-up explanation, but this is all I can do in the short amount of time we have. Wait... let me pull up somewhere first... _

_...We're here.

* * *

_

Chapter Four: Jump

Phoenix and his companion stepped out of the car and into the building. Of course, Phoenix was obviously taking his partner to the room to try out the MASON System, a system he just happened to help invent... though he only technically came up with the base idea.

Other people did the rest of the thinking.

The building they walked into was actual rather... bland. There was nothing unique about it and the actual structure seemed to just sink into the urban surroundings around it.

A great place to store a government secret.

Many people outside believed that the building was actually just some run-down class none apartment building... where the hobos live. They rarely see anyone step in and out of the building. They also don't see the lights of said 'apartments' turn on... probably indicating that they are still vacant. During the country's financial crisis, many people became unemployed and lost their homes. A lot of people stormed into this bland building looking for a home, but the employees just told them that this wasn't an apartment building.

That's all.  
And everyone left.

And that's how the outsiders found out a new piece of truth about the unknown building on that street.

Phoenix and his rather excited companion continued to walk over to the administration desk. Phoenix flashed a card at the secretary and the secretary let them walk in to the inner parts of the building.

They continued down the hall (which was the same design as an apartment building; several doors leading into the most random places) and stopped at the dimly lit door labelled 'M'. Phoenix swiped his card into the card reader on the door and the door clicked open.

They went inside.  
His partner gasped in surprised.

The room was a lot larger than the outside appeared to be. It looked a lot like a movie studio, but with a lot more wires and technology. The other differences would probably be the lack of staff (Phoenix and his companion were the only ones in the room) and the giant box-like chamber in the middle.

It looked like something out of a sci-fi movie. It was like a virtual coffin where one is to lay on a bed. The bed will then slide into the cylindrical chamber (just like in a CAT Scan or something) and then jump into the heart of the MASON System. Phoenix told his partner to just lie down and stay calm during this process. The person seemed to have complete and undying trust in Phoenix, so the person lied down as quickly as possible. Phoenix then placed the wires onto the person's forehead in order to monitor the person's brain activity.

"Alright, now just trust me and you'll be fine. Stay calm and make your mind as blank as possible."

"I would always trust you.... Nick." she replied.

Phoenix then plugged in a USB port he had in his pocket, containing all of the videos and files he needed to show what he needed to show to Maya using the MASON System. Of course, he had already figured out the solution to this problem, but he wanted Maya to figure it out all on her own, but as him.

He knew that, after the lack of contact all of these years, this would be the only way to explain what happened to him seven years ago.

Phoenix didn't hesitate to press the button.

And then it began.

Maya, breathing as calmly as she does when channelling spirits, was slid into the MASON Tube (as the creators like to call it). Once she was inside, she was aware of a dizzying spinning sensation around her. She then made her mind become as blank as possible.

And once that happened, she was sucked into the virtual reality that Phoenix was trying to send her to.

* * *

And the next thing I knew, I was in a courtroom. Everything looked so real... even myself. I looked around and found that this was the same courtroom Nick had been in on his first trial when Sis was still alive... and well..

Suddenly, a strangely dressed man walked into the defendant lobby. I had absolutely no clue who it was.

With him was a girl who was dressed in the same outfit he was. I assumed that they were father and son... and by the looks of the outfits, they were magicians. I instantly became nervous as soon as I noticed that they were headed to me. What would people think about two magicians hanging out with a spirit medium? I instinctively gripped onto the handle of my suitcase which I had brought along with me today.

Wait.

Suitcase.

I don't remember holding a suitcase when I went with Phoenix to wherever we were.

Phoenix.

Where was he?

I began to panic as I began to remember everything that had just supposedly happened a few minutes ago. I then brushed the back my head in an attempt to calm myself down. My spiky hair felt soft and massaged my hand, making me calm down a bit.

But then my blood pressure spiked as soon as I realized I had just brushed spiky hair. The two magicians were almost with me, so then I sprinted over to the picture frame to try and look at my reflection.

And that's when I gasped.

I-I...

I was Phoenix Wright.

* * *

Outside of the MASON Jump Tube, Phoenix was monitoring Maya's progress in the system. Right now, he had set it up so he would be able to show her his trial from his own perspective.

Literally.

"I think I explained it to her..." he muttered to himself when he noticed that Maya's brain activity was spiking. "I better go and tell her..."

And so he pulled out a microphone and whispered quietly into it. "Maya... it's me. Nick."

* * *

While I was in the middle of my panic session, a voice suddenly popped into my head. It was very gentle and tender. It did it job to calm me down a bit, but as soon as I noticed whose voice it was, I groaned. It was him of all people.

"Maya... it's me. Nick."

I had no clue at the time how I can talk to him back. I guess I couldn't do that yet. I just waited for him to inform me more about my situation. All I got was one sentence and that was it.

"You're in the MASON System."

And that was it.  
No more.  
He wouldn't (or couldn't) let me in on anything.

I guess he thought I was smart.  
Well, technically I am, but.. psh!

I walked over to the two magicians who were looking at me calmly as if they were okay with me randomly running off to stare at some bland photograph of an abstract judge.

I figured that this is what Nick wanted to show me... the MASON System. Somehow, it allows you to jump into the past or something. I tried to remember what Nick had been rambling about before we came here, but I couldn't remember a thing.

I guess now I'm him in the past.  
And I have to go through a trial as him.

Man, I hope I don't get my client a guilty verdict!

***  
(A/N: Jumping to the end of the trial because some people don't like it when I get into details of the conversation they already know from the game.)

***

In the end, I found that I did end up getting a guilty verdict. I thought I was doing the right thing at the time, presenting that notebook page, but I guess I wasn't.

I had received a notebook page from a girl I found was named Trucy Enigmar, my client, Shadi Enigmar's, daughter. At the time I thought that it was nothing, but the way it was worded soon became clear to me that it belonged in the victim's diary.

And I did such a good defense. I know my client is innocent because I figured out that Valant, his companion, friend, and partner, was guilty of the crime. I even figured out that Valant had tampered with the scene through the IV liquid.

And just when I thought I had finally become victorious, I suddenly came crashing down as soon as I found out I had just presented forged evidence.

At the end of the trial, I ran out of the courtroom, releasing the tears I had been holding back for so long. The tears trailed me as I ran into the bathroom and looked at my disgraced face. The meeting to decide my fate was tomorrow and I knew that I was going to lose Nick's badge.

And as soon as I felt lower than I thought I could fall into the endless abyss of depression, everything around me changed. I suddenly blanked out one second.

The next second, I found myself in a virtual room surrounded by floating data and binary code.

And in front of me was a serious-faced Nick.

* * *

"Nick..." Maya sobbed. "I-I'm s-s sorry...!" Maya hugged him tightly, still thinking that she had lost his badge and failed him, though that made no sense at all to someone thinking logically at the time.

Phoenix allowed her to sob on his hoodie.  
It wasn't exactly real anyway.

"N-Nick..." Maya continued to sob quietly. "I never knew your j-job was so h-hard."

"Maya, you make it seem like you've failed me." Phoenix chuckled lightly. Maya pounded on his chest in frustration, then as soon as her brain processed his words, she stopped pounding and brushed away the tears. Soon, she began to think logically and finally realized what was going on.

"Th-That's what happened... that's what y-you wanted to show m-me..." Maya complied, finally realizing everything for what it's worth. "That was-"

"-my last trial." Phoenix finished for her. "That's what happened. You, though this amazing system, just went through what I felt during my last trial. Now you know everything from my perspective."

Maya absorbed those words as if they were her own.  
Then she gasped in amazement.

"Nick! That means you really didn't forge evidence! You're innocent!" she exclaimed. "I knew it!" She then danced around with joy, a bright fire finally shining once more in her eyes. "A lot of people believed you didn't and I started to fall into that category too, but that's my fault. In my heart, I knew you didn't do it!"

She beamed at Phoenix, but he didn't beam back.  
Maya immediately knew why.

He wouldn't be able to prove to the officials the way he proved it to Maya. First off, they themselves had no record of what took place before the trial. Phoenix had just used a special portion of the MASON System to unlock his memories and put them into the compiled video memory place thing...

Also, the MASON System is a government secret. Basically, if Phoenix were to show it to the people he needed to show it to, he had no guarantee that they would keep their mouth shut about this advanced piece of technology. Soon the word will be out about the government secret and everyone will want a piece. The government would be having a crisis if word of the MASON System fell into the wrong hands.

Thirdly, even if Phoenix was successful in finding a way to keep the official's mouth shut and shows the person what he needed to in the MASON System, what chance would the official have of believing it. He could say that it was all just a hoax... a fraud... just like the defense attorney that tried to prove his innocence through it like back in the trial with the forged evidence and how he tried to use illegal evidence to prove the innocence of one client... *rambles on*

Phoenix saw the fire dim in Maya's eye and knew that she had figured out the situation he was in. Maya knew that what Phoenix had shown her was the truth... she would know. She definitely trusted Phoenix with all of her heart and had no doubt whatsoever that what he had shown her was fake.

But if someone who didn't know Nick that well were to see what she had just seen, they would most definitely call it a hoax.

"Nick... I'm sorry." Maya apologized.

"You don't need to apologize." Phoenix replied. "It was my fault that this all happened."

"Did you ever find out who gave you the forged evidence though?" Maya then asked.

* * *

At that question, Phoenix's eyes sparked a bit with the old spark that had gone missing long ago. It was only for a few seconds; then they reverted back to the distant grey eyes they had become over the seven long years.

Suddenly, the binary code began to spin around us. I think I blacked out again, but I could hear Phoenix explaining what he knew and the questions that I needed to unravel for myself (though I couldn't see him). Images that had relevance to what he was saying exploded into my vision. When I could feel myself "drifting back into consciousness", I could feel an ability to travel between the past and the present. As soon as I "came to" again, Phoenix was still standing in front of me, but now there were holographic floating files around us and he was smiling.

Phoenix and this system are powerful.  
He seemed to know it like the back of his hand.

"I, Phoenix Wright, will be your guide through this game..."

He continued on and I listened, but all I knew was that this time around, I wouldn't be alone.  
Nick would be right beside me, helping me figure out what to do when I became stuck.  
We would be reliving his memories together.

And soon, we began.  
With the first time "she" became Phoenix's daughter...

* * *

After five hours of getting to know one another, Phoenix and Maya finally finished what Phoenix intended to show Maya through the MASON System. She finally saw everything Phoenix saw through his own eyes. She felt as though she completely understood everything Phoenix had been going through all this time.

Yet there is one thing that MASON System can't do.  
Replicate the feelings and thoughts of the first person.

In other words, Maya could never know what Phoenix had been thinking of at the time while going through that point in life.

And Phoenix was glad for this flaw.  
If Maya knew what he was thinking...

The two then headed back to the hotel where Maya was staying in Maya's car.  
(A/N: I never said that the car belonged to Phoenix! He was just... umm... driving it... even though he doesn't exactly have a licence yet... Maya trust him too much sometimes...)

On the way, Maya would complain to Phoenix as to why he wouldn't let her just stay at the Anything Agency, but Phoenix just tried his best to give a vague answer.

The only thing is, with a vague answer, more questions popped up and Maya constantly bugged Phoenix for a straight answer on the ride back.

"Why isn't her hotel closer?" Phoenix caught himself thinking on the way.

Eventually, they finally made it alive and in one piece. Phoenix was relieved that Maya would finally stop bugging him or the night. He hugged his old charge and promised that she would be allowed to visit the agency tomorrow.

Maya smiled and agreed that she would come at 8 in the morning when the law office used to open. Before Phoenix had a chance to counter that, she walked into the building.

This meant that Phoenix had to clean the office all night or Maya would freak as soon as she came in.

Then she would start a cleaning rant all over again.  
Or whine about how much he's changed.

Phoenix realized that he didn't exactly have a ride home, so all he could do was sprint him (he didn't have enough money on him at the time to pay the bus fare.)

By the time he arrived at the office, it was around 9 and myself and Trucy were already back from our investigation. Phoenix was panting like mad and as soon as Trucy noticed, she sprinted to get her father a cup of water. As soon as Phoenix received the kind gift, he chugged it down in three seconds. He then walked slowly over to another room, got into a new change of clothes, then stepped back out to our baffled looks. This time, Phoenix was just wearing an old polo shirt of his.

"Mr. Wright... are you going somewhere tonight?" I chuckled. "At least shower a bit."

Phoenix groaned.

"Daddy, where did you go? Did someone ditch you again?" Clearly Trucy was used to seeing her father scramble into a change of clothes after running home from somewhere. It was how he stayed fit. Phoenix nodded in reply. It wasn't really ditching, but then again...

"You two, we need to clean up this office. I'm having an old friend visit here at 8, so we need to fix up everything..."

I looked around.

There was nothing on the floor.

The coffee table was fine.

In fact, it was pretty neat in my eyes. It was cluttered with Trucy's props, but otherwise, it's fine. Let's just hope Mr. Wright's friend isn't a neat freak or it would take a day to clean up the organized mess that is the Anything Agency.

Seeing that Trucy and I weren't motivated enough to go and help him out, Phoenix sighed in defeat and just slumped onto the couch. He fixed his beanie and grabbed the nearest of bottle of grape juice to drink a bit (or chug the entire bottle down... I couldn't tell).

Afterwards, I basically went home to my apartment ten minutes after. I assumed that Phoenix and Trucy probably went home as well (no one can live in a cluttered office). I made sure to take with me the video of Phoenix's trial again so I can go home and make sure I memorize it like the back of my hand. Basically, as soon as I went home and did just that for two hours straight, fast-forwarding to the important parts and making sure to absorb everything I'm seeing if I ever want to completely understand what happened to my beloved mentor.

And so that day was over and I, at the time, had forgotten to ask what Phoenix was to tell me after I came and dropped Trucy off. Now, I realized, it would've helped with a lot of things if I did. I wouldn't have had to waste so much time for one.

But then again, all that wasted time is just proof of my dedication.

I really am not sure as to what I should think anymore.

* * *

A/N: I know this is messed up, but here's my answer to who Phoenix was talking to during the MASON System portion of the game. Most people would assume that it was Apollo, but it couldn't be.

My proof: Apollo didn't know why Phoenix had given him those "items" just before the last trial of 'Turnabout Succession'. IF he had really been the person who had seen everything about the MASON System, he should've known because he had seen how Phoenix even obtained the items first-hand.

Second off, Apollo mentions that he had seen Phoenix's trial several times and studied it and everything. In the MASON System, the person had only "seen" the video once.

And I know everyone will be like "this is so contradictory!" while feeling so badass that they used the word 'contradictory'.

Well, I understand that there may be random flaws in my line of thought; an example being in the first quote above. Phoenix says how he has a 'weapon' of his own... later claiming that it's his magatama. If it's Maya, she already obviously knows that Phoenix has a magatama, but in my world, Phoenix says that to tell Maya (in a more entrancing way) that she will have to use to magatama throughout the process of this investigation through the MASON System.

So there.

And if you find any more contradictions, I'll be happy to bring my logic on all this to your 'contradiction' to fruition. (Or rather I'll be happy to just whip out one of my fast-legged make-shift improvisations to fix the problem... whichever way works for you.)


	5. Trust

_Never believe what you see until you have seen evidence and can prove that what you have seen is the truth. _

_Remember what I tell you today.  
Evidence is everything.

* * *

_

_Maya soon came around to visit like Phoenix said she would. She was oddly impressed with how much we had managed to 'clean up' even though everything was still pretty cluttered. I guess she can be impressed because somehow, Phoenix managed to stuff a majority of Trucy's props into her room and into the little cabinets around the office. _

_She then lounged around at the desk, which hadn't been truly used in a while. She mentioned something about how sitting in that desk and seeing Charlie brought back memories._

_I wouldn't know.  
We didn't even exist in each other's worlds at the time. _

_As I looked at Maya, I noticed something that most didn't. _

_Through these long seven years, Phoenix has changed a lot more dramatically than I had expected. His entire persona has been revamped from what I remember about seven years ago. _

_Maya however, hasn't changed too much. She was still outgoing lucky person I remember. _

_The only difference was that she seemed a lot more responsible.  
And she looked at Mr. Wright as if she thought that he was suddenly going to collapse at any time. _

_At first, it wasn't too noticeable, but after a while of talking to each other in the old Wright and Co. Law Offices, her own attitude while discussing stuff with Mr. Wright began to change. It was easier to notice that hidden inner mask she wanted to hide from Mr. Wright. _

_After she and Phoenix left to grab a couple of burgers at the burger joint, I figured it out. _

_Even though she was like Phoenix's best friend, there was that little hint of doubt still lurking in her mind. _

_I could tell easily, the way she looked at Mr. Wright. It was as if she was suspecting... which is what led me to my conclusion. She was still probably not sure if Phoenix had presented that forged evidence back at that trial seven years ago._

_I knew about how Phoenix had cut himself from his friends in shame; in order to start a new life with his adopted daughter. _

_The only thing is, though this may have worked to some extent for Phoenix, it may have left his 'old' friends scarred._

_Or that's what I thought._

_As soon as Maya and Phoenix came back, I decided that it was time for Trucy and I to start investigating. _

_Mr. Wright stopped me just before Trucy and I stepped out of that door._

_"Apollo." he said. I looked at him with spaced-out eyes. I was in that element to get ready and start investigating. My 'investigation' eyes examined him carefully as they would outside when I was in pursuit of clues for the trial. I noticed that though he had been with Maya and had just enjoyed a nice time with her, the way he was looking at me was intense. It was as if his time with Maya just now didn't happen. His eyes were actually starting to bore into mine as we gazed at each other for a while, trying to figure out what the other was thinking in a way._

_Though it wasn't for too long, he broke the sort of trance we were in (which honestly only lasted for a couple of seconds, but it felt like two minutes in my opinion)._

_"I need to talk to you right now." he stated. I snapped out of the trance mode I fell into and just bobbed my head up and down slightly. I followed him after apologizing to Trucy for having to leave. He too left Maya and the two of us walked over to the back._

_We stepped out of the door._

_And Phoenix took out a copy of something. He showed it to me and began to explain. _

_And I realized that this was what was in the envelope he had given to Trucy a while back (or at least what was supposed to be in it... only because he had actually given Trucy the copy and he held the real version of it... he planned to switch the two soon after he was done with me). _

_Phoenix explained how the will was from Trucy's father and that though there was a form of notary present, he still didn't trust him. _

_In other words, the reason he wanted me to put a signature on the will was because though the will was done 'publically' in a way, he wasn't sure if Mr. Brushel was real and needed an actual lawyer to sign it to make it official._

_And so I signed it, trusting Phoenix with whatever he planned to do. I felt that it was for the better of something and that I could trust my mentor with whatever he planned to do with that will and my signature._

_Afterwards, I didn't tell Trucy about the will until later on in life after the trial.

* * *

_

_Finally my fourth trial was over. I finally learned the truth of it all.... or rather so I thought. _

_By the end of my fourth trial, I had thought that I had truly obtained a better grasp on what had been going on in Phoenix's life with the forged evidence and whatnot. _

_But it turns out that in the end of it all, that wasn't true. _

_In fact, at the end of the trial, I soon learned that all of this was just the beginning. _

_The real evil of the world had only just begun to show its true colours. _

_And I was to be one of the victims in all this.

* * *

_

Chapter Five: Trust

It was just after the trial actually.  
No it was more like right after Trucy and I visited the hospital to say hi to our client who had just recovered from a poisoning. It had been a nice sunny day (what pathetic fallacy in my opinion) and we were walking over with a nice smile on our faces, glad that we can stop sweating over fighting for the future of many important people, mainly Vera, Phoenix, and Klavier.

We were just about to step into the Wright Anything Agency when someone we knew stepped out. (We actually nearly bumped into her because I was busy looking for my keys and Trucy was just following right behind me.)

"Lamiroir!" Trucy exclaimed as she greeted the Borginian celebrity warmly.

Lamiroir smiled kindly underneath her scarf which looked as though it was quickly placed onto her face. Phoenix was right at the door and about to say good-bye to her when he spotted us.

He then frowned for some reason.

I instinctively did the same.

"You guys are early." Phoenix stated emotionlessly. "I didn't expect you to come back in a while. In fact, I was just about to go and leave to go to the hospital to meet up with you two."

The way he was saying it made it seem as though it was pure improvisation.

"Well, it was just a short visit." I replied. "Vera still needs to rest. After all, she had been fighting for her life these past few days. We couldn't stay too long in case we cause too much stress for her at the moment, so we cut the meeting kind of short and came back here." I then looked at Lamiroir and nodded at her direction in greeting. "Why do you have Lamiroir here?" I inquired. I was wondering why someone with no job (in a way) would be having a meeting with a Borginian celebrity.

"She came here to thank me." Phoenix answered.

The answer was so simple, yet so vague. For some reason, I felt as though that short answer wasn't satisfying enough for me. I continued to look at him, hoping for more, but he didn't respond. His face just seemed blank and oddly casual.

Lamiroir then broke the silence.

"I just came for a visit." Lamiroir replied. "I wanted to say thank you to Mr. Wright for helping me with life... especially for helping fund my eye operation."

I figured that he didn't really fund too much.

"Oh, that's great!" Trucy exclaimed. "Does that mean that you can see now?"

Lamiroir nodded in response.  
That would mean that she might be able to see me starting at Phoenix intently, anticipating his next move.

That's probably why she spoke.

"Don't suspect Mr. Wright of any wrongdoing." Lamiroir stated. "Our meeting was just one of gratitude, that is all."

My bracelet didn't twitch.  
That meant that she was telling the truth.

I let down my guard, only to allow my mind to be bombarded by questions.  
The biggest questions were probably 'Why was Phoenix being so defensive?', 'Why was Lamiroir speaking for him?' and 'Why didn't I believe Phoenix from the start?'.

Lamiroir then said her final good-byes and walked over to the bus stop to await a bus to the airport.

The three of us then walked into the office and lounged a bit.  
(We technically deserve it! I mean, we just won a pretty hard trial!)

I then heard a polyphonic tone fill the air.  
It seemed so nostalgic and broke the silence, but it also caused Phoenix to get up and pull out his phone to answer it after seeing who was calling.

He stepped out and answered the phone.

That's when Trucy and I broke out into chatter.

"Polly, do you really Lamiroir was here to say thanks?" It's clear that she too was a bit suspiscious as to what was going on with her father. (I hope that she wasn't thinking that they were thinking of getting married... Mr. Wright's only 33 and Lamiroir's like 40!)

"I know. I think that there's something up. If they wanted to just say thank-you, then why did it take so long?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, from what we know, it's obvious that it's because of their conversation that they weren't able to see us after the trial ended and we won."

"But didn't Daddy have to be at that Jurist System room?"

"...but the Jurist System room is in the same courthouse. It doesn't take too long to end something meant for the trial. I mean, they should've have ended at the same time, yet, Mr. Wright was just about to leave when we came from the HOSPITAL."

"...Good point."

And after that, Phoenix immediately came back with a thought-filled look in his eyes. He seemed focused to head to the door. It was easy to tell that he wanted to hide this intense focus, but just gave up in the end. It seems that the phone call he had just received struck something important.

Maybe Maya left already?

Or maybe it's something more important.

"You two, I have to go somewhere, alright? Stay here. You probably don't have any more cases right now considering that Apollo has only just begun his climb to fame as an attorney." Phoenix chuckled at his really bad joke and adjusted his hat. He then opened the door and walked out to wherever he was headed, stuffing his cell phone into his pocket.

Phoenix was right.  
I didn't really have a case.  
But now that I think about it, I actually do.

I need to investigate why I have this odd feeling of distrust in the mentor I have always wanted. I didn't have this feeling with Kristoph and now look what happened.

So why was I having this feeling Phoenix?

Maybe I got older.  
Or this was a much bigger affair?

As I divulged myself with my thoughts, Trucy wandered off to grab a drink, leaving me alone.  
And with the loneliness came a thought.

Maybe there was more to the forged evidence than I thought.

Maybe there was more to what I have learned.

And I planned to uncover that.

When Trucy came back, I explained to her what I planned to do. She admitted to me that she too was suspicious of his father's movements because something didn't click. She also didn't see Lamiroir twitch or anything when she told them that she had only come to say thanks.

That's when we made our pact.  
We were going to investigate this together.

It would be like our unofficial fifth case.  
And now I have someone close to Phoenix. Someone on the inside.

And so, with this office as our first location, we began our investigation.

Watch out Phoenix Wright because here comes Justice!

* * *

I received a phone call as soon as Apollo and Trucy came back from their trial. I wasn't the least bit embarrassed at the ringtone, but it had taken me by surprise.

I pulled the phone out of my pocket and looked at the caller ID.

_'Unknown Caller'_

Great.

I walked over outside to have some privacy, then answered the phone.

"Hello?"

There was a long silence, then a robotic, inhumane voice responded. It sounded almost demonic.

_"Remember me... Wright?"_

And that's when I realized that there really was more to all this than just having his protégé finish the Jurist System case. Otherwise _he _wouldn't have called once more.

"How could I have forgotten? The last time you called me was just before Apollo's fourth trial. Were you watching?"

_"Yes."_

"And..."

_"You have taught him well, though he seems like he is easily swayed."_

I hesitated in a response. Then, "What do you want now? I proved that it wasn't me who presented that evidence. What more do you want? I mean, I believe it worked out for both of us."

_"Not true!"_ The robotic voice snapped. I could almost hear the real voice through the voice changer, but knew that it was futile. _"In fact, though you may have made it better for yourself, you have inevitably made it worse for me. Now this case has been brought back to light by the authorities and they will investigate it, thus maybe landing to me. I have pulled enough behind-the-scenes strings for this, but it's about time I took complete reign over this."_

"What do you mean...?"

_"I myself will use whatever means to get this case out for good for both our benefits, including manipulating your abilities under my command."_

"And how would you that?" I didn't want to know the answer to this answer considering the other result the first time.

"Nick!" A feminine voice screamed. At that voice, I froze. My eyes felt as if they had widened and I stared at the door in front of me.

How could Maya end up in his hands?  
It's like she's being kidnapped all the time.

This has become a habit.

_"That's right. I have your friend right here. She seems to resemble that other younger girl I kidnapped last time. Are they related?"_

Of course they were.  
The other girl he took was Pearl Fey.

I nodded with the phone in my ear, not caring that he probably wasn't able to see this. I tried to signal Apollo through the door somehow, not sure what I would do if I got his attention, but he was busy talking to Trucy about something.

_"Alright, now you know the stakes. I'm watching you right now and after your nod, I'm now positive that they're related. Don't even try to get his help or I will resort to other means if kidnapping this girl isn't enough."_

Dammit, he was watching.

_"Now listen and do as I say precisely or I'll have to hurt this young lady. Either that or I kidnap another one of your friends. You can just nod because I can see you right now as I've mentioned earlier."_

I nodded.

_"I need you to meet someone at Lordly Tailor. In ten minutes. He will you the items and give you and brief summary of what you are to do. Now do whatever he says or else I will come over there personally and just kill you to get it over with."_

I nodded once more. Then whispered into the phone.

"...Just don't hurt her."

The man on the other side of the phone laughed. _"You still haven't changed, Wright. You have no choice. Go now or blame yourself for the death of this lovely lady."_

And we both hung up at the same time.

* * *

I then went back in, trying to look as calm as possible, as though nothing had happened. Of course, with these two, it's literally impossible to perform such a task, so I just put on a focused face and explained to them briefly that I had to go somewhere. After making my corny joke, I immediately opened the door, stepped out, and headed over to Lordly Tailor.

It wasn't too far away. I arrived there pretty quickly. As I stepped in to be greeted by a bunch of people looking at the new antique displays of some other culture I didn't recognise, I immediately remembered an important fact the person on the phone forgot to tell me.

How was I supposed to recognise the person I was supposed to meet?

Of course, that wasn't too much of a problem because the person just happened to recognise me instantly (that and the fact that I was the only one not wearing something formal at the time). The man that approached me did well to hide the majority of his features. Because of his white suit and pants, I couldn't tell if it was a fat man or a skinny man at all, but it's obvious that the person funding this entire thing is very rich considering that they were able to afford white silk suits for their henchmen (in a way).

"I assume you are Mr. Wright?" the man asked. He had a heavy German accent and most 6 year olds could probably see him beside Adolf Hitler or something.

I nodded in response and held out my hand for a formal greeting, but the man didn't accept it. He held out a yellow manila envelope and gestured me over to a corner to make us look more inconspicuous.

"Inside you will find your gadgets and objective." the man said.

I chuckled a bit. "You know I'm not a spy right? I'm either an ex-defense attorney, a poker player, or a piano player... whichever works best."

The man didn't chuckle along at the joke.  
And I thought that one was actually pretty funny.

"You must leave now." the German said. The next thing I knew, he was gone. He blended in with the crowd and I couldn't find him to ask him more questions.

I walked out of the building as casually as I could, feeling around the envelope to try and guess what was inside. Once I was out, I immediately ducked into an alley and opened it. I then pulled out the first thing my hand touched.

And the first thing that came out was a gun.

I instantly became pale.

"What kind of job was this man planning on sending me on?" I asked myself as I clutched the gun firmly in my hand. It was a nice handgun and I noticed that it was fully loaded as well. I didn't even bother trying to test it out... I just prayed I didn't have to use it.

I figured that the other items would have to be viewed somewhere more private, so I tucked the gun in my pants, closed the envelope, and headed back, scared as to what I had managed to get myself into this time.

* * *

A/N: I have to learn how to make longer chapters.... I mean... Phoenix has a gun! What will this result to?

Who's the mysterious man?

And what will Apollo find out through his investigation?

Wait until the plot rolls a bit more to find out! (Which reminds me, I'm really sorry for just throwing something so random so suddenly, but as the plot unravels, I hope I'm able to help piece together everything... if you need a bit of help understanding, yes, this isn't the first time Phoenix has been blackmailed by the 'mysterious man over the phone using a voice changer'. Also, there is more to Phoenix's meeting with Lamiroir and somehow, Apollo is able to feel something lurking behind all of this... somehow.... know that this isn't really much of a spoiler, just a recap on what took place on this chapter for those who get lost easily.)

Which reminds me, don't kill me if you hate something and let me have my peace.  
In addition, I will actually make an effort to update faster... it's just that my teachers have been bombarding me with massive projects (and I have no time for procrastinating... I have four due next week!) and whatnot, so please don't hate me for that...

Hate my teachers.

That is all.


	6. Bloody Knuckles

A/N: I hope I don't confuse you too much with the interchanging POV's, but I figured it would be easy to figure out who is who if you just read it... I hope you guys are smart (but it' s really easy... I made sure of that, only because Apollo and Phoenix have two distinct personalities).

* * *

_I looked down the hall. It was bleak. The midnight moon shone through the window facing north, watching my every move. _

_I looked to the right of me.  
A shadow._

_A figure of darkness copying whatever I do. _

_In utter curiosity, I lifted one hand, waving to my silhouette.  
It waved back._

_I lifted my other hand.  
And darkness filled my eye as I drew closer to my inevitable task. _

_In my silhouette's hand was a gun.  
And we were about to go and use it._

* * *

_Trucy and I had begun our investigation a while back now. I believe it's only been a couple of days, but though the second and third day have proved to be useless, the first day is where we have definitely learned a lot. _

_Let me start from when we had just begun, right after Phoenix had left to go wherever he needed to go. _

_We began the majority of our investigation around Phoenix's desk. We opened several files, made sure to look for anything suspicious and whatnot. _

_I felt like such a creepy fanboy all over again.  
Trucy nearly found out I have done this before when I mentioned that I have seen a ton of this stuff before.... even though it was clearly hidden from view. _

_The only thing is, we didn't find anything close to being suspicious within Phoenix's files. The closest thing we probably found (or at least in my opinion) was an old diary that belonged to him. _

_The only thing is was that it was completely blank._

_Suspicious no?  
Well according to Trucy, she had never seen it before. But at the same time, she had never seen Phoenix write in some strange notebook or even ever get to the point where he would write something for a hobby. _

_Apparently he hated paperwork (or anything remotely close).  
But then again, is there a person in the world who would actually ENJOY paperwork?_

_Otherwise, I decided to leave it alone for now. I made a mental note of where it was and put it back where it belongs... just in case Phoenix uses it (which I highly doubt). _

_Though I'm not exactly sure myself what that is supposed to mean. _

_I decided to keep this in my mind as Trucy and I fixed up the place so it looked untouched. Oddly enough, as soon as we finished, Phoenix came back in with a manila envelope in hand, distant and misty eyes focused on the ground to avoid any eye contact. _

_That wasn't like him.  
Normally, he would burst in with a smile, greeting us in some eccentric way. _

_Trucy and I immediately looked in each other's way, knowing that we just needed to know what the contents of the manila envelope in his hands were, though we felt that deep sense of guilt and that it would be best if we were to just leave him alone for once. _

_Of course, that can't be the case right now. _

_"Hey Mr. Wright." I greeted. _

_Phoenix's eyes shot up to me in surprise. It was as if he had thought that he was the only one in this room. My greeting had caught him off guard; I could tell because his face was in a struggle between being a smile or a frown. _

_In the end it was a frown and he just grunted in reply. _

_He walked into his own personal private room and I heard a click as he locked himself in. _

_Something was up._

* * *

_I soon made it back to the office, still in deep thought about the contents of the envelope.  
And the gun. _

_I walked in, completely forgetting that there are other people besides myself in the room. My mind wants to be alone, so it makes it seem that I am the only person left in the world, the only one moving among a world that continues forward without me. It's like everything else is progressing, leaving me behind like scrap._

_Suddenly Apollo greets me and I take it by surprise.  
The world around me has suddenly acknowledged my presence. _

_I didn't know what to say. My body and mind had shut down a while back, so I just made a sound that was between a real greeting and the sound a wild boar makes when its mating, then headed over to my room, locking the door behind me to make sure no one would follow. _

_As soon as I cut myself off from the others, I immediately dumped the contents of the envelope onto the floor and sat around them, coveting them like a toddler and his building blocks. Inside the envelope had been the gun (which I was still shocked about), a small cassette which probably contained the instructions and a card._

_I picked the card first. It seemed to be some old business card of sort. It had a strange symbol; it looked like a pink shell with his face drawn on it by black permanent marker for some reason. On the bottom, in neat handwriting (which I recognised but couldn't remember who it belonged to at the time) was the word 'Nick'._

_I examined it closer.  
Then I gasped._

_Pink shell: Shelly de Killer  
Writing: Maya_

_Is this supposed to tell me that Shelly is the mysterious man on the phone?  
No that can't be right... Shelly de Killer, though he has done this before, has a reputation of always working alone. In other words, he wouldn't have sent a man to give me the envelope; he would've done it himself._

_I stuffed the card into my pocket, knowing that it would later have some form of importance, but as I did, a golden glint caught my eye._

_When I noticed it, I immediately was surprised as to what I thought it was._

_An attorney's badge._

_I picked it up and examined it a bit closer, only to find that my suspicions have been confirmed. It was an attorney's badge. _

_I looked at the number in the back. _

_26381_

_This was my number._

* * *

Chapter Six: Bloody Knuckles

It took a long time for Mr. Wright to get out of his room. To be honest, Trucy and I were just waiting for him to come out so we can bombard him with questions and attempt to press him and get some info out on what was happening. By the time he did come out, it was around dinner time, so basically around seven. He walked out in a trance and his face looked as though something had drained the life out of him.

Something really was up.

"Mr. Wright." I said out loud to get his attention. He looked at me with distant eyes and nodded, but still didn't say anything. Trucy got up and ran over to her daddy's side, but Mr. Wright rejected her. He just pushed her aside gently and sat silently on the couch with a bottle of grape juice. We watched as he opened it slowly, yet he didn't drink from it. He just continued to stare down onto the ground, fists clamped together as though he was praying. It was pretty silent for a while

"Daddy, what's wrong?" Trucy asked with a very concerned tone. Her eyes looked as though tears would soon begin to pour down. Phoenix ignored her though.

And that made me mad.  
How can he just shut us out?

"Mr. Wright!" I exclaimed angrily. "Just tell us what is wrong! We know something is up, but we don't know what, so just tell us!" I felt like an a teenage girl trying to find out some secret someone else she knows is keeping from her. It was just frustrating that he would not tell us, even though we all knew that we were able to trust each other.

And even through my outburst, he didn't respond.

I groaned in frustration and Trucy wiped a tear away, still trying not to cry. Phoenix continued to remain silent.

My bracelet then suddenly tightened around my wrist.  
That's when an idea came to mind.

Even if Phoenix won't speak to me, Trucy and I have our own methods of getting information out.

Time to start pressing.

With the tightening of my bracelet, Trucy too seemed to clue in on something. She glanced over to me and I nodded slightly, trying to tell her that I felt it too.

And so the questions began.

"Mr. Wright, we know you are hiding something." I declared. Phoenix didn't respond. Heck, he didn't move an inch.

At least to the normal eye.

My bracelet shifted slightly.  
I need to find his nervous twitch.

Trucy caught on to what I was doing and continued. "Well fine, if you won't tell us, then we'll just keep on going until we find the truth." Phoenix smirked slightly with this reply. He was coming back to life, but it was too slow and unrevealing. "Here's proof that you were hiding something..."

And so I yelled TAKE THAT! right in front of Phoenix's face, pulling out a manila envelope. Phoenix glanced over it, but then didn't react at all. Look like it didn't work. We were trying to get a reaction out of him from the sight of the envelope so that he might think that we somehow manage to take it or something, but I guess we didn't think this through.

He probably still has it with him.  
And he knows that if we knew what the contents of the envelope are, we wouldn't be pressing him.

So the decisive question is 'what is in that envelope?'.

And just like that, our line of questioning was forced to come to a close for now and Trucy and I have gotten nowhere.

Well, other than confirming that Phoenix is hiding something.

"You two, I guess that's that, correct?"

I was surprised to hear the voice. I figured Trucy was too considering the shocked look on her face. The man in front of her finally spoke. He closed to bottle in his hand, tossed it onto the couch he was on, got up and walked away from the couch a bit.

But then he stopped.

And we looked at him smirking for some reason. His beanie shadowed over his eyes as he spoke once more.

"You can't help. Only I can fix it."

And he stepped out and left like in all those epic movies with the ominous main characters.

Or at least he tried to before Trucy pounced on him. Phoenix yelled in surprise and pain and the two of them toppled over onto the floor. I heard a loud crash as a table nearby also fell along with them. I ran over to their side only to find them both on the floor, staring at each other intently (I half-expected them to burst out in laughter, but it didn't happen). Phoenix was staring at Trucy with an angry expression running deep in his face for doing that and Trucy was scowling back.

There was an intense silence.  
Then Phoenix snapped.

"Why the hell did you jump onto my back like that?" Phoenix roared. "That was the most IDIOTIC thing you could have done at a time like this? Why can't you KIDS just mind your business and let me handle myself?" He pushed Trucy off him and stormed off, fists clenched as though he were about to head off to a gangfight. Trucy and I stayed silent, unable to move after Phoenix's outburst.

And why did he call us kids?  
He really was pretty mad at us.

After about a minute of long pause, I realized that we should've done something that should have been done a while ago.

Chase after Phoenix.

I don't care if he doesn't want us to help... we were going to do whatever we can to get into the loop, no matter what principles we had to break.

Other than killing someone or something as intense as that.

I grabbed Trucy by the arm who was still in traumatic shock (yeah Justice, what a great idea) and we both made it out (or rather I dragged Trucy out) of the door.

But we were too late.

It looked like Phoenix ran off quickly.  
Or at least it looked like it if it weren't for the tremendous bang by the alley beside the office. Trucy and I ran over to find Phoenix there, definitely denting the dumpster. His knuckles were bleeding and there was a clear bloody dent where he had been punching. His face was drenched in sweat and tears from all the emotion of what had happened.

"Mr. Wright!" I yelled out. This got him to stop punching and turn around and glare at me.

Great.  
He was still mad at us.

"Get out of here!" he yelled out, his eyes still bloodshot, but blind with fury. It was clear that he had lost his cool and was having trouble getting back to his relaxed attitude. It seemed as though years worth of pain and misery were coming out all at once.

"We're not leaving." I stated firmly. I wasn't sure what I would do if he came to attack us out of anger.

But now would be the perfect time to think about what I should do.

Phoenix picked up a sharp discarded metal pipe.  
I clutched onto Trucy's arm even more. Trucy huddled against my arm, unsure what to do with tears pouring from her eyes and soaking my arm.

He walked toward us.  
I was getting nervous now, shivering on the spot. Trucy was starting to whimper softly, trying to stifle all of her emotions in.

Next thing I knew he was upon us.  
Our eyes locked.

And I closed my eyes for what seemed like an eternity.  
For the attack that never came.

He simply walked past us.

I opened my eyes slowly at the sound of the hollow metal pipe hitting the pavement and Phoenix's steps entering the building. Trucy and I slowed down our heart rates, though it was hard to considering what had just happened over an interval of a couple of minutes.

When we managed to regain the majority of our composure (which took around ten minutes), we struggled to walk into the building, scared as to what we would find.

"Hey Trucy, do you know where we keep the bandages?" a voice called out from somewhere inside.

Trucy and I were frozen in place at the voice. Phoenix then walked out toward us and closed the door. I vaguely remember him muttering something about dust getting into the office. He then walked back over to the bathroom in his pointless search for bandages. He knows as well as the both of us do that we don't keep bandages in the office.

So instead, he came out with toilet paper wrapped around his bloody knuckles and he sat down on the couch once more, shivering because of the adrenaline, but relaxed otherwise with a bottle of grape juice in hand.

There was a long silence as the both of us did nothing but watch the man drink his grape juice casually, unsure what to do in a situation like this.

Afterwards, he stopped drinking and looked in our direction (yes, we were still standing by the door). "I-I'm sorry..." he whispered out to us.

I was still unprepared for something like that, but luckily Trucy reacted first. "It's a-alright Daddy... at least you didn't h-hurt us..." she managed to choke out.

Phoenix smiled as best as he could at the moment, though it didn't look too peaceful because he still had a tear-stained face, bloodshot eyes, and toilet paper wrapped around his hands which were quickly turning red.

I had mixed feelings about all this. How could he just expect us to forgive him so quickly? It was clear to me that Trucy was quickly falling for his act, but being a lawyer, I was able to quickly assess the situation instinctively.

And I figured out what he was trying to do.  
Though I never knew someone like him could succumb to doing something so... disgusting.

"OBJECTION!" I cried out.

And the obvious reaction was made. Phoenix and Trucy turned to me in surprise. Both of their expressions showed signs of confusion, but Phoenix showed a tinge of anger as well (but that would be normal if he had been expecting this reaction from me). He then smiled at me mockingly and in my mind, I became more disgusted at how he was reacting to me objecting.

"What is it, Apollo?" Phoenix asked me casually. His tone was annoying me, but I still kept it bottled in like my other feelings. "You don't think that I should be forgiven so easily, correct?"

Wow.  
He did know what was running through my head.

I nodded slowly because he just managed to word out my thoughts so quickly.

"Polly, how could you!" Trucy exclaimed. "Why can't you forgive Daddy?"

"Well, after how he's been reacting to our investigation, do YOU think that he should be forgiven so quickly?" I said immediately. "I mean, first thing, he snapped, and now look... we're treating him as though none of that crap had happened! Why are you letting him off the hook so easily? Wasn't the purpose of everything we did to find out what your dad was hiding?"

I took a deep breath in afterwards because that has got to be the longest rant I have ever done in my entire life on one breath. Phoenix chuckled to himself, feeling somewhat proud of himself for managing to figuring it all out before I even thought the thoughts.

He had somehow been expecting this reaction.

"Well Apollo, then what do you think you should do then?" Phoenix then asked me. It caught me off guard. I hadn't gotten that far. Trucy was gazing at me expectantly as I thought deeply for an answer to that question.

What should I do to Phoenix if I can't find it in myself to forgive him? Maybe I should somehow put a condition to my forgiveness; making him tell us what he was hiding...

But that seemed a bit too greedy for me.

Instead, I sighed in defeat. "Alright, you have a good point Mr. Wright, but we have to forgive each other, alright? Forgive us and I'll find it in my heart to forgive you."

Phoenix thought about it for a second, looking up at the ceiling in thought, then looking to me and nodding in agreement. I held out my hand and he accepted it.

"I'm sorry for trying to invade your privacy." I apologized. "And I forgive you for your outburst. Though it was uncalled for, I guess the weight of your secret and how we were treating your feelings was too much and you were bound to snap anyways."

"I'm sorry for yelling at you two then." Phoenix followed. "And I forgive you because I guess curiosity is to come naturally. Though I may not find it in my soul to inform you on what I have been hiding at this moment, I will tell you later, but for now, just cancel your investigation and leave me alone."

We then let go of each other's hand, still feeling that little bit of regret at the edge of our consciousness. Phoenix then looked at Trucy and I in the eye, a sharp flame in the gaze. "If I find that you have been continuing your investigation Justice, you're fired." And after that, Phoenix left slowly out the back door.

Trucy and I stared at each other after that remark. "I guess that puts a lot of risk if we continue the investigation." I started.

Trucy nodded in agreement. "Do you think Daddy is being serious?" she asked me.

"From the look in his eye, I think so."

"I can't believe that the secret would be able to make Daddy to go as far as risking your job.... so what will we do now Polly?"

I thought about this for a second. Would I risk my job for the sake of fulfilling our curiosity? Or would we just call off our investigation and let Mr. Wright be?

I opened my mouth and told Trucy my answer.

* * *

A/N: Sorry for leaving you all off on a really crappy cliff-hanger. I was going to make this longer, but I just happened to offer an idea which ended up blossoming into this gigantic project along with invitations to the superintendant, two French people working for the government or something, and the local priest (yes... VERY important people). My idea also became the start of a new tradition and I can't help but say "THIS WAS ALL MY IDEA! XD" because technically it was.

In other words, yes, now I have to do a ton of work on this project (because it was ALL my idea!) so I'm really sorry about the slow progress in this story.

And another apology: if you get confused with the switching POV's, prepare to be VERY confused next few chapters.

So... what will Phoenix do with a gun and his old attorney's badge? How the heck did he/someone else even get it (was it forged)? What was Apollo's decision.

All these answers will come up in the next few chapters so stay tuned!


	7. Phoenix's Eternal Flame

_Sometimes what seems to be the clever way out of a situation can lead to ones inevitable downfall.

* * *

_

_It was midnight. I had let Trucy go to sleep at around ten, then came back to the office in order to write in that diary Ema had given to me as a gift from Europe years back. From my desk, I opened a secret compartment and removed a special quill and a pair of special red-lens glasses. I set them on my desk then, after closing the blinds, began to write in my diary. _

_With invisible ink._

_I don't write in this diary too often, but it serves as a decent replacement for a 'Court Record' in a way. Somehow, my obsession with that still hasn't faded off after about eight years. I've only written about twenty entries... over a course of eight years. I only write in it when something drastic occurs in my life, but that moment is required to be kept a secret from peering eyes, hence the invisible ink. _

_My entry is as follows:_

_Today was a rather hectic day. My daughter and subordinate were in an attempt to discover the mission I have been forcefully given by Unknown Subject __(this is the name I have given the mysterious man on the phone). __The problem is, their actions, and admittedly my own, have been too drastic for my liking. Would I really fire Apollo in order to keep this mission a secret if they decide to irrationally continue their investigation? Or will I be forced to reveal all?_

_The only thing is, I'm not sure myself as to what is happening. The time of this event is poor. Apollo had just managed to clear the test trial when I received this new threat. It is clear that this man is pretty current, contacting me as soon as my meeting with Lamiroir discussing my rights to be a guardian to Trucy ended. I have watched the video and it is clear that I have no choice but to follow the instructions (which apparently will come later on... I guess he/she needs to come up with a plot first). _

_I can still remember the images the video have burned into my head this afternoon. The sight of Maya trapped, her eyes wide with fear in the poorly captured video made me cringe. How could someone do something so vile to poor Maya? All to get to me... I guess I am partially to blame for Maya's situation, but it appears that I am to have a repeat session... saving Maya from some mysterious kidnapper. _

_On another note, I have received a package along with the video (which in my opinion was meant to scare me into doing whatever he/she said... it worked). I have received a gun, a card, and oddly enough, my old attorney's badge. The gun is probably the most terrifying item of the three, only because I am still unsure about its purpose in this mission. The card was something that had confused me. I have never seen this card before, yet it brings up so many memories of my second year as a lawyer. The attorney's badge was the item that stalled my logic for a while. I have the feeling that the mission will require me defending a person that is obviously guilty, but I don't know how he/she could have made such a perfect-looking forgery... that little bite mark from where that monkey bit it and stole it back at the Berry Big Circus (ugh... can't remember his name...). The badge stumped me because it was either a well-made forgery... or it was the real thing. _

_But how could someone get a hold on the real thing?  
If the Lawyer's Association stripped it from me all those years ago...?_

_I guess this is one of the many questions I will have to try and have answered later on. _

_But as for now, I have my own dilemma whether I should follow what I said and fire Apollo when he restarts his investigation (and knowing him, he probably will...) or if I should back out on my word and risk losing my credentials with the two._

_Only time will tell. _

_~Phoenix Wright~_

_And that basically ended my rather short entry (compared to others, this is actually a rather small entry). I took a napkin that Ema had included in the package and wiped the notebook down with the electro-static cloth. This would remove any prints on it, so if Apollo continues his investigation and I find his prints on this diary, he's in for it..._

_After this, I put the diary, glasses, and special quill in their respective hiding places and returned home to get a good night's rest.

* * *

_

Chapter Seven: Phoenix's Eternal Flame

I managed to arrive to the office just as Trucy and Phoenix got there. In fact, fresh from early morning Chords of Steel training, I met up with the two as Phoenix was unlocking the door to the office.

"Polly!" Trucy exclaimed happily at the sight of me and my brown leather suitcase. "You're early! I never knew someone like you would be so eager to come to work after what happened yesterday..." She ended up hesitating for the last word, unsure at her dad's reaction, but Mr. Wright just smiled.

"It's fine." he said. "Let the past be the past. That's behind us..." He then glared at me and I suddenly became nervous. I could tell that in his mind and in his glare; he was really telling me that the warning he had placed yesterday was still in effect.

But that isn't going to stop me.  
I've decided yesterday that even through the cost, I will never stop my pursuit for the truth, even if it means risking the profession I love.

The three of us walked in and our day began.  
The only thing is, as soon as our day began, Phoenix got a phone call on his cell phone, that nostalgic polyphonic ring tone filling the air.

Phoenix groaned as he took his cell phone out of his pocket. However, the annoyance in his eyes seemed to evaporate as soon as he had a look at the Caller ID. "You guys, this won't take too long..." Phoenix said almost instinctively. He then walked out the front door and began his conversation outside.

As soon as the door closed, Trucy and I burst into conversation.

"Polly! This is our chance!" Trucy jumped wildly. "We have to start our investigation right now because I'm not sure we'll be able to get another chance!"

"I agree Truce. But first things first... while Mr. Wright is outside on the phone, only one of us can investigate the desk area once more."

"Why's that?" It's clear she hasn't caught on to the idea.

"Well, one of us should lean against the door or the window and try to eavesdrop on their conversation."

"But eavesdropping is... bad!"

"But something like that is necessary... I thought you WANTED to continue our investigation?"

"I do! But... I don't want to hurt Daddy's feelings like we did last time!"

"You actually fell for that?" I began laughing a surprisingly cold laugh that actually scared Trucy even more. But I didn't care. "How could you have fallen for that Truce? I believe that all that crap was just an act put on by the ex-attorney. He was just trying to sucker us in, scare us, and get us to stop the investigation. You still have to learn how to see through people like this!" I clenched my fist vehemently then pointed to the door with a passionate fire burning in my eyes. "Trucy, you'll eavesdrop, but you better start now. I'll investigate the desk area once more."

I saw Trucy hesitate at first as she felt the need to argue, but even the hesitance was unsure because she seemed to immediately jump to the door and press her ear against it a split second later.

"Polly! I got something!" she hissed to me as I walked over to behind the desk.

"Alright! Keep listening!" I responded, suddenly excited. I re-searched the desk, pawing for the diary. At last, I found it once more. Of course, it was still blank.

But I figured out something strange about it.

When I saw it in the way the light was right now, I can see markings... pressed areas of the book... basically scratches that are formed when you, well, scratch the page.

In other words, I could see evidence of someone writing in the book. I brushed my hand over one page and I was right... I could feel the indentations of words on the page.

But why couldn't I see the words?

And that was the logic used to figure it out.

"Can't see words..." I mouthed out. "Invisible words... invisible ink! That's it! Mr. Wright must be using invisible ink!" I looked over to Trucy and was about to tell her the great news, but her faced seemed twisted in pain. I thought it meant that what she was listening to was absolutely painful, so I didn't bother to go tell her the news and break her intense focus.

The only thing is, I caught the smell of something that reminded me of devilled eggs.  
Blood.

"...Poll...y..." Trucy moaned out to me.

At the sound of her weak voice, I turned to her, my eyes wide in fear. I sprinted over to her side, only to find a puddle of blood on the carpet.

"Trucy!" I cried. "How did this happen?"

"There... was...bang... shot..."

I could've figured that out for myself. There was a hole at the bottom of the door and it was rather clear that Trucy had a bullet wound in her left thigh (that was where she was clutching in pain). I ran into that room that represented a kitchen and grabbed a bottle of cold water and a cloth. I ran back to Trucy who seemed to be getting paler and paler each second. As soon as I let her gulp down on some water to get back some of the hydration lost from sweating in pain, I gave her the cloth to do whatever with it. She put it over her wound and it almost immediately became drenched in red.

That's when I took the opportunity to call 911.  
But the only thing is, the land line was dead.

"Dammit!" I yelled out in frustration. How could fate turn against me at a time like this. "Why don't I have a cell phone?"

The word cell phone brought out some logic and I figured that it would be the appropriate time to go out to Mr. Wright, take his cell phone from him, and use it to call 911.

But that's the problem.  
What if the person who shot Trucy shot Mr. Wright too?  
What if the person who shot Trucy was still there?

I gently moved Trucy away from the door (she seemed to be barricading it with her body). When I did that, I could clearly see the point of entry in the door. It was a clear hole (heck, it was still smoking). I didn't bother peering into it because I needed to get outside.

I opened the door slowly, afraid as to what I would find. Would the killer still be standing there. Would Mr. Wright be down for the count? Would I be next to suffer in the hands of the homicidal er... gun-person?

My body instantly was on stealth alert, my eyes basically squinting, unable to directly look at was I would find.

But through my squinted eyes, I saw something shocking. My eyes snapped open in shock. So many thoughts filled my head instantly.

What I found was even worse than what I had anticipated.  
What I found would probably scar me for life.

Mr. Wright was holding a smoking gun.

* * *

He stared at me with steely eyes along with an expression that seemed to describe pure cleverness and deviousness. His smirk reminded me of someone who had just managed to fool the King. His grip on the handgun in his hand was loose and looked as though the gun was just hanging there and would fall onto the ground at any time. His posture was pretty casual... a bit too casual for just shooting his daughter in the leg.

But he probably doesn't know what he's done.  
Or at least I hope that's the case.

"Congratulations Wright... it's clear that you managed to shoot someone in there... your daughter perhaps." an electronic voice cheered from the small speaker on the phone in his other hand. "Because only your subordinate has stepped out, I think that it is believable that my prediction is rather accurate."

At that, Mr. Wright looked at me and the pained and terrified expression on my face told him that the man/woman on the phone was correct.

After figuring that out, Phoenix's expression changed drastically from a casual man on the street to a terrified and concerned father.

"Wh-what have I done?" he gasped under his breath, his breath suddenly ragged. I could tell that he hadn't been expecting the result (what WAS he expecting... shooting a door randomly?).

The phone picked it up. It was clear that it did because the voice began laughing.

"I knew it! That's what you get for trying to cheat! I knew you should have gone along with my original plan and shoot the center of the door instead of trying to pull the wool over my eyes and shooting the bottom!" And as soon as the cackling statement was over, the man on the phone instantly stopped laughing. The three of us remained silent and the sound of Trucy crying out in pain and cars whizzing by on the road nearby was clearly audible.

"Trucy!" Phoenix screamed at the door in utter fear. "Are you alright?"

His response was a loud groan that felt painful.  
How could someone be alright if they had just been shot in the leg?  
By their own father, no less?

Phoenix was immediately overcome with the need to call the police, but as soon as his pointer finger was over the 'End Call' button on his cell phone, he realized that hanging up on the blackmailer on the phone may be devastating.

I was looking at him intently, my eyes filled with the thought of just grabbing the cell phone and calling the police, but I didn't. It seems as though Phoenix was faced with a tough decision for some reason...

"Dammit, Mr. Wright, give me the damn phone and help your DAUGHTER!" I bellowed, Chords of Steel finally proving useful. Phoenix flinched and I moved to grab the phone, but his fingers seemed to be glued onto the stupid clump of metal that could be the only way to save Trucy.

"Hehe, stuck in indecision. Go ahead, hang up. I mean, it was all your fault from the start anyway... and you know what you need to do." There was a click of the phone, silence, then the long tone signalling that the person on the other side of the phone had hung up.

Suddenly, Phoenix took immediate action. It would've caught me off-guard (under normal circumstances) because it was like a statue suddenly coming to life right before your eyes. his fingers flew on the keys as he dialled for an ambulance. As we waited through the five-minute response time, Phoenix looked at me and I looked back at him.

We had a lot on our minds.

Then one thing managed to find its way out of my mouth.

"Sorry for investigating..." I muttered under my breath, but Phoenix caught it.

"We'll deal with that later." He then glanced down in his hand, only to find the gun that had caused all this. "I better hide this somewhere." he whispered to me. He then tucked it underneath the dumpster nearby. He probably would've found a better hiding place, but he couldn't open the back door because Trucy was there. He may have gone through the front door, but thinking on it, I remember his keys sitting on the table inside.

Next thing I knew, the paramedics arrived, opening the door gently with a gurney at hand, then lifting the mercifully unconscious Trucy onto the bed weightlessly. They signalled Mr. Wright and I over to a police car where we were interrogated, but I made sure to not reveal the fact that I knew who shot Trucy. I was good at hiding my lies and bluffs, considering I'm a defense attorney.

I bet Phoenix did this with no problem.

* * *

In the end, we were let go, but it was eleven in the evening. Trucy was admitted into the hospital and was immediately put through surgery. Fortunately, the bullet didn't hit anything major and the closest thing she probably could've died of would be blood loss (but apparently it would take another ten minutes to die of blood loss; fortunately for everyone that we called when we did). She was under intensive care at the time, just recovering from surgery. We weren't allowed to visit her, so we just went back to the Wright Anything Agency.

We stepped into the office, police still investigating. We made sure to avoid the area and just step into Phoenix's private room (actually, I was just following him).

He closed the door behind us. He didn't turn on the lights. The only way I could see him was from the moonlight shining through the window. It was kind of gloomy, the shadow covering most of his face.

Then he spoke.

"Apollo, go."

Two simple words.  
And I remembered.

"Y-you w-were serious..?" I found myself gasping for breath. This was too much. First Trucy was shot.

Now Phoenix was firing me.

He nods in response. Then turns to the window, his back towards me.

I felt like I wanted to cry. How could he? Why would he have a gun in the first place? Why shoot at the door? A million questions ran through my mind and several results surfaced.

One of the ones I focused on was Phoenix's reason for taking such drastic measures.

"He wanted to keep us safe from his secret."

I thought about it more.

"If I hadn't continued my investigation, Trucy and I wouldn't be in the state we are in now."

In the end, this is the final conclusion I came up with.

"It really ended up being all my fault after all."

I knew that I was just blaming myself for this, but there was the inevitable guilt that engulfed me after a traumatic event such as that.

I finally decided that I should leave after all instead of arguing with a hurt father. The last thing I said before leaving was as I turned to face the man still staring out at the moon.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Wright."

And with that, I left to pack my things and go home, leaving the job I loved so much.

I have been defeated.

* * *

A/N: Crap. I messed something up in this process half-way and now it seems too choppy... *sigh*

It's true, no one's perfect... T.T (I'm sorry Franziska!)

OMG, I just realized what I forgot!

Phoenix's POV!

Time to add it...

* * *

Apollo and I have finally been released from interrogation. I made the detective in charge (it wasn't Gumshoe, but Ema) believe that the shooter had managed to get away, traumatizing Apollo and I outside when we encountered him with the gun. Fortunately, Apollo managed to catch along and describe said man.

He was an Arabian named Hassim.

So now the police were on a look-out for an Arabian named Hassim (the brilliance of our plan).

Because we had nowhere else to go, we went back to the office, completely forgetting that the police were there until after we saw them. They looked at us back and wanted to tell us that we shouldn't be there, but I have my connections, so they were more or less afraid to tell me to back off and just continued their work.

I led Apollo into my private office, guilt filling me up on the inside. I felt the need to just take it out on someone else, put the blame on them.

Then I saw Apollo.  
And a dark desire filled my mind.

Next thing I knew, I said it.

"Apollo, go."

At first, I just wanted to be left alone, but as the words came out of my mouth, its intent changed.

I actually WANTED to fire him.

Next thing I knew, as if a little devil possessed me, I pointed out to the door, telling him I'm serious.

And thoughts streaked through my mind.

_"Wh-why am I doing this? Apollo doesn't deserve this kind of treatment!"_

_"This was all my fault, allowing Maya to land in a situation as this."_

_"This was all my fault, obeying a blackmailer's request, thinking I could outsmart him."_

_"This was all MY fault."_

Then the little devil side overpowered my logical side.

_"No... wait, that can't be right."_

_"It was all HIS fault! That STUPID Apollo!"_

_"I warned him before that I would fire him if he were to continue the investigation... it was much too dangerous to get them involved... now looked what happened! If he didn't investigate like I told him to, Trucy wouldn't be in Intensive Care and I wouldn't be in so much pain!"_

_"I did it in order to save someone, but he turned the situation so I ended up hurting someone in the process as well!"_

Apollo seemed to be shocked at my irrational decision and I was too, but for some reason, I just felt that this was the only way to release all the bottled-up feelings I've gathered up. A fountain of eternal flame sprouted in my heart and I turned to the window, unable to show Apollo what was on my face.

He would have easily been able to read it.

It was the look of shame, disgust, anger, and depression.  
The mixed thoughts circling my head was changing my attitude right now. I felt quite unstable.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Wright."

I then heard the door close, signalling that he did leave. Part of me wanted to run outside and tell him "Just kidding!" then scratch the back of my head innocently, but the other part (the majority) said that he deserved it.

And my heart listened to the other part.

I stared up at the sky through the window, thinking about the mess I have managed to catch myself in. I stared at the night sky... a true night.

Maya was in mortal danger, Apollo was no longer an ally, and my daughter was in intensive care.

I'm all alone now.

I have been defeated.

* * *

A/N: I kinda feel better now, but not really. It took such a long time to write this up for such low quality... not cool.

Then again, I'm working on two other fanfics that are coming up soon and I have sooo many tests coming up... remember... grad! XD

Kind of scared for high school, but at least everyone knows I have a ton of stuff to learn still, so my writing quality is bound to improve!

YAY! .

So... don't kill me for shooting Trucy in the leg, making Phoenix look like some emo homicidal maniac, and for firing Apollo. It will come full circle in the end (I think). The storyline is fragile... I improvise most of the time... which is part of the reason of my slow progress.

Anyways, I just remembered... I finally made a Twitter Account, so if you want updates or so, just follow me. I go by "wwatnoww" and my name is Oki Yousora (that honestly is my real name). Go and follow if you want random updates on stories and my life (and I promise it will be worthwhile... only because I tend to go on the computer everyday and I'm NOT one of those people who will go and just randomly make an account, only to let it go to waste!)


	8. The Dead Beginning

__

In the end, it doesn't even matter.

_I put my trust in you.  
~In the End: Linkin Park~_

_

* * *

_

_There is nowhere else to go.  
There is nowhere else to run._

_Maya's kidnapped.  
Trucy's in the hospital.  
Apollo's gone._

_And no matter what 'angle' you think about the situation I'm stuck in, there will always be the same conclusion._

_All of this was all my fault._

_Now I have no choice but to fulfill the task my blackmailer has assigned me. At least I will be able to try and save one person that I care about. _

_And I don't care if it means giving up my life.  
Heck, my life is over. Most of the people I have cared about left me when the news of the forged evidence came around. Now the only people who believed in me have been whisked away from me due to my tormentor trying to get me to do what he wants._

_Dying would probably be merciful._

_

* * *

_

_I'm sitting up on my couch right now, unable to sleep. I look over to my clock beside me, only to find that it's only three in the morning. I rub my eyes and groan in disappointment. It's impossible for a father to sleep knowing that he had just shot his beloved little girl. _

_I think over what has happened, unable to face the truth of it all still. _

_Am I being cowardly?  
Just like back at those dark days after losing my badge?_

_I guess so._

_There is only one difference however.  
My shining light has been diminished._

_I get up off the couch, knowing that I'll probably just be wasting my time sitting on the bed or trying to get to sleep. I know a feat like that would be merely impossible. I stand at my rather small" bedroom" window (I sleep on the couch in the living room) facing my now silent city. I listen for any life outside, but all there I'm able to hear is a sniper breeze rustling a couple of leaves._

_Otherwise, that's it.  
There aren't even any crickets or passing cars.  
Or any form of life out there._

_The entire world was asleep.  
Either that or I really have been left alone by the world._

_I walk back over to the couch where the manila envelope my blackmailer has given me was hidden underneath the couch. All of the items he had given were still in pristine shape.. other than the gun (well, no, really?). I took out the badge... well, MY badge. How he/she managed to get a hold of it, I still had no clue. _

_I grasped on to it tightly, remembering the task my blackmailer gave me.  
I guess the only thing I really can do is at least accomplish that. _

_Even if it goes against the morals I've grown up around for as long as I lived._

_I threw the badge back into the envelope, sighing in defeat. I then roamed around the home, packing the stuff I needed for the task I would probably be getting to as soon as I was finished. My home was pretty tiny and my pack was pretty light; only a few clothes, food, money, and other various items I just decided to throw into there in case I would find it useful. I made sure to pack my invisible-ink diary as well. _

_I also wrote a little note for Apollo and left it on the counter. I figured that knowing his attitude and kind heart, he would continue the investigation no matter what the odds are. Just to bring justice to light._

_I expected it.  
It's why I chose him._

_He had the same attitude towards justice I have.  
Or rather "had".  
These days, 'justice' to me is just a word; an illusion society has created to satisfy their wants and needs._

_I guess I really have changed drastically over the course of a couple of days._

_After Apollo's fourth case ended, I thought I finally had justice served and that everything will be going its course._

_But then this catastrophe happens._

_I don't know what to think anymore._

_After packing, I placed my bag on the floor went over to Trucy's room, still untouched. It hasn't been a day and I already miss her. Just seeing all of Trucy's random magic equipment and such reminded me of how much pain I caused her, making my form a fist in my hand unconsciously. It took a few seconds to realize I was making a fist and clenching my teeth and so I voluntarily forced myself to relax, only because as soon as I came to the realization that I was doing such a thing, I realized just how painful it really was. _

_I started to rub my palms afterwards, nail marks all over the place after digging into my skin. The only sound I could really hear was me rubbing my hand._

_I'm lonely._

_I wanted to hear Trucy's calm breathing like I would normally do if I were to step into her room like this at around four in the morning (it took me about an hour to pack). _

_(A/N: Of course, it's not like he just walks into his daughter's room regularly so early in the morning... I just figured that this is what it would sound like if Phoenix were to do such a thing). _

_I sat up on her bed, pushing over to disposed clothes on her bed to the floor. I was too lazy to tidy anything up... cleaning is women's work (even though in the state of living we've been living in lately, there is no such thing as "women's work" anymore). _

_Next thing I knew, sleep overcame me and I slumped onto her bed, realizing just how lucky Trucy was. While I slept on the old, dust bunny-filled couch with grandma-style floral patterns which gave me a rash almost every night, Trucy was sleeping comfortably in a surprisingly relaxing bed which calmed my nerves. My eyelids dropped like a weight over my eyes. The last thing I heard was a little bump; my bag must have fallen off the table. _

_Next thing I knew, I was sleeping like a baby, oblivious to the fact that I wasn't alone in the house anymore._

_Wait._

_I wasn't alone in the house anymore._

* * *

Chapter Eight: The Dead Beginning

"I'm an idiot! I've got to be crazy!" I kept telling myself. "Why the hell am I STILL going through this? What will I do if I get caught?" I stroked my gelled antennae down, only to allow them to fling back up like how they usually do. I always did like the feeling my hair gave me when it went back up. The movement relaxed me; the little vibrations running through my head and calming me.

Anyways, back to the topic.

If he caught me doing this, I would be screwed.  
I swear, this is like illegal trespassing.

I've only been to their home once, dropping Trucy off because her dad was late (turns out that he had fallen asleep studying for that bar exam... that was just three days ago). I still remembered where he kept the spare key because Trucy showed me, knowing that I probably would forget its location in about a month.

But like I said before, it was only three days ago since she showed me.

I dug my hand into the poorly grown tomato plant and found the key. I proceeded to unlock the door (quietly), but then I heard movement.

I looked into the window.

Phoenix Wright was waking up.  
I didn't even bother making a sarcastic joke in my head as he stood up off the couch.

What was Mr. Wright doing waking up at like three in the morning?  
This just screwed up my plans by quite a bit.

I hid down below the window, watching his every move. I watched as he removed something shiny from a manila envelope and clutched onto it. It was rather small and er.. yellow.

That's when I recognised it.

"Is that... an attorney's badge?" I gasped. I flinched at the volume of my voice, but it's clear that he didn't hear it through the silence of the night.

Speaking of silence, it was oddly quiet tonight.  
I swear there is usually something making a sound at least.

_One hour later..._

Oh geez, this is taking so long! I've been crouching for an hour now while he was away packing. I had to get up, only to crouch down again because my legs fell asleep.

Finally, Mr. Wright gets around to leaving the living room and going into what I remember being Trucy's room. I was just about to step in and unlock the door when suddenly, I hear footsteps around me.

I wasn't alone.

* * *

I turned around quickly.  
And a shadow loomed over me.

Or at least it turned out like that, but it was dark... I couldn't see very well.

"Step aside." the figure demanded.

I glanced back into the building behind me. Mr. Wright was still in Trucy's bedroom, though I'm not sure what he's doing in there. Judging from the shadow's figure, I can tell that he's a man, though that's just about it.

The man in front of me has me trapped.  
The other man behind me doesn't even know I'm here.

Next thing I knew, I felt a large blow to my head and I was knocked over. I would've fallen to the ground with a thud, but the man made sure that there would be no sound for a while, so he caught me and gently placed me to the ground. He swiped the key from my hand.

"Thanks for giving me the key." he said. He carefully unlocked the door and stepped inside. I recovered from the blow a couple of seconds later and followed suit.

Though I'm not sure what I'll do then.

I saw the man rummaging through Mr. Wright's personal files in search of something. Finally, he finds it and was about to leave if it weren't for me giving him a hard blow to the side of his head.

He stumbled to the side and clutched to his head. "What was that for?" he groaned.

I smirked a bit.  
Then I realized something.

If this man in front of me were a real bad guy who wanted to harm Mr. Wright, why the hell did he just respond to that blow like a prissy? He should've fought back like I was expecting.

I let down my guard after coming to this conclusion:  
He doesn't really want to 'harm' Mr. Wright physically.

Though I'm not sure what that file in his hand contained.

"Why do you need that file?" I asked sharply. "Why did you plan on breaking in to Mr. Wright's home?"

"I think I should ask you the same thing." was his immediate response.

"I asked you first!"

"Respect you elders!"

And after that really gay argument, I proceeded to knock this guy out, but he countered me and next thing I knew, I was on the ground with a thud, him landing on me.

I heard a groan from Trucy's bedroom and the both of us flinched in fear that Phoenix heard and would step outside wondering what was up. We held our breath waiting, but as soon as I figured that he wouldn't be coming out, I punched the guy in the face.

"How dare you-"

And next thing I knew, I was kicked in the stomach and knocked to the ground like a rag doll. I was then stomped on, breathless, then kicked around until I no longer had any energy to fight back.

For a prissy, this guy was pretty strong.

I could tell that the man was smirking to me, both of us knowing who the victor was. He was going to escape with the file and I was already teetering over the edge of unconsciousness, knowing that by the time I woke up, Mr. Wright would probably be bombarding me with questions as to what I was doing in his house covered in bruises and messing up his already messy house.

"Nice try, Justice." the man whispered to me.  
He then went to the door.

But he didn't escape.

I heard a click.

"I knew I left my bag on the floor." another voice said casually.

And in my head, I was beaming.  
Phoenix Wright had come to save the day.

"Ah, Wright, it's been a while, hasn't it?" the man turned to face the spiky-haired ex-lawyer pointing a gun at his head.

Phoenix gasped.

"No way. D-"

The man hushed him. "You're not going to blow my cover in front of Justice, are you?"

The two men glanced over at me, all bruised up and about to fall into unconsciousness.

I smiled back.

"How goes it, Mr. Wright?" I replied softly with a corny smile on my face. "Don't worry about me... I'm just swell. I'm... fine."

And I don't remember anything after that because everything went black.

* * *

_"Apollo..."_

"Apollo."

**"Apollo!"**

"Gah!" I gasped awake and coughed out the water that was suddenly poured upon my head. I looked up only to find Mr. Wright's concerned face staring down at me along with the other man I haven't seen before. Though the light above us wasn't on, the lighting in the room was just fine, meaning that the light was coming from the window.

Meaning that it was daytime.

Oh crap.  
It's daytime.

I immediately went to begging-for-forgiveness mode, crying out "I'm sorry!" and almost grovelling at Mr. Wright's feet, but he stopped me half-way.

"It's fine Apollo. I was kind of expecting you to come and continue your investigation anyways." Mr. Wright sighed. "I just wasn't expecting it to be so early... I thought you would want to rest a bit first after just losing your job."

I blushed a bit at the comment. It's true that I was caught off guard after what happened. I mean, after all of the random tragedies I've been through, I suddenly lost my job as a defense attorney working for the 'Wright Anything Agency' on top of it all. The only thing is, I figured that I should be depressed, but for some reason, my body just wouldn't stay and be depressed.

In fact, it was the rush of adrenaline in my body after what happened that kept me awake and brought me to the conclusion that I should dig deeper into Mr. Wright's life (even though that's pretty er... awkward).

And it's that rush of adrenaline that gave me the energy I needed to go on the night of my loss of job and Trucy's 'accident' and investigate when Mr. Wright least expected it.

Though it's clear that my 'plan' didn't work.

Clearly.

Now here I was, on the ground, water all over my face and such, surrounded by the owner of the house I was trying to sneak into and the guy who beat the crap out of me a few.. hours ago?

Actually, what time is it?

I looked to the clock.  
10:34 AM.

Wow I was asleep for a while.

"What do you mean you were expecting it, Mr. Wright?" I asked. I found that rather surprising that he somehow knew what I would do.

"Well, I figured that doing something like that would be in your nature, so that was my prediction, but like I said, I had expected you to stay at home all depressed and such for a while... then leave." was his response.

"Oh yeah Justice, I apologize for my behaviour last night." the other man beside Mr. Wright said calmly to me. I just realized that he was there and was about to attack him again for revenge or something.

But instead, I just sat up and wiped my sleeve over my face in an attempt to dry off any remaining water on my face.

Yeah, that was a fail.

"Wh-who are you?" I asked.

"Oh, I can't tell you that." the man replied.

"Why not?"

"Well, because you can't know my identity."

"But last night... it seemed that Mr. Wright knew who you were!"

Mr. Wright spoke up. "We know each other through our past." he said.

But that STILL left me in the dark.  
Fine, if that's how you want it, don't tell me.

"Wait, so how do you know my name?" I asked the man.

"Er... Wright and I talk."

But it was clear that an answer like that wasn't satisfactory enough for both myself and Phoenix.

"But I haven't seen you since-"

"Not now." the man cut him off.

* * *

I got off the floor and stood up so I could look at both of the men eye to eye (kind of.. they were a bit taller than I was). By the looks of it, both Mr. Wright and the new man were about the same age and sure did show the same respect they showed each other.

Though I wish they would show me some of that respect.

I start rubbing my back, feeling bad for it considering that now it was covered in bruises the night before. Seeing me do this made the other man cringe in guilt, then caused him to close his eyes so he wouldn't have to see it.

It's clear that this guy wasn't exactly bad guy material.

So what was he doing breaking into Mr. Wright's house?

My eyes immediately fell onto the file in the other man's hand. For some reason, he needed that file so desperately that he needed to break into Mr. Wright's house. He needed to beat me to a pulp to keep me quiet to.

So what was in that file?

And seriously! Who is this guy?

"Umm.. what were you doing so early in the morning breaking into Mr. Wright's house?" I asked. I was genuinely curious and I figured that maybe it would give me some leads in my own investigation. However, the man was busy looking around the room and IGNORING me to even care about my question.

He glances at the clock.

"Looks like I have to go. I'm late." the man sighed. He went over to leave, but Phoenix stopped him again.

"Drop the file first on your way out." Mr. Wright demanded with a casual, yet sharp voice. His eyes went from relaxed to a glare, then back to their casual position. "I don't want you reading into my personal files."

The only thing is, instead of obeying Phoenix, the man grabbed the handle slowly, then sprinted out the door, catching us by surprise.

"Not a chance, Wright!" the man screamed behind him as he ran to his hidden parked car nearby.

Phoenix and I scrambled after him, Phoenix having his gun at hand.

"Dammit! Come back here!" Mr. Wright screamed at the other man. The only thing is, we were running at the same speed, so we weren't gaining any distance to him and because of his three second lead, the man got to his car first.

And started it up.

And drove off.

But that's when Mr. Wright shot the tires out, causing the man to skid to a halt, scramble out, and sprint away like a madman.

Turns out that whatever was in the file was a ton more important that I thought.

I continued to sprint after him, but Mr. Wright had other plans.

"What are you doing?" I shouted back at him.

"Getting an antique!" he shouted back. "Keep chasing him! I'll be right behind you!"

And so I did just that.

And the next thing I knew, from Mr. Wright's backyard shrub, he burst out through his well-tended plants on a bike. It wasn't too rusty, but some paint has been scratched off and judging by its design, it looks as though it's about ten years old.

With gritted teeth, Mr. Wright peddled his hardest up the uphill road and caught up to me pretty quickly.

"Where did that bike come from?" I asked as I sprinted (thank goodness I was a guy on the track back at high school). "And how did you get so quick on it?"

"Long story short, I'm stuck peddling like that when I'm late for a case, now run!"

And so he peddled ahead of me and sprinted through a shortcut he pointed out to me.

We were going to cut him off.

As I ran through a separate path, I could hear Mr. Wright's bike squeaking non-stop. He sure was putting his bike to the ultimate test. "Get back here-!" he shouted. I was too far away to hear the name he called out to the person, but judging from the faint panting suddenly becoming quicker between intervals, the other guy sure was forcing himself to get as far away from Mr. Wright as soon as he could.

I saw how this was a short-cut. Mr. Wright's street ended up curving into an arch at some point and I just went straight through, meaning that I should be able to get ahead of the other person soon. Mr. Wright was just making sure that the other man would continue down the curved street and not divert to some other road by pressing him on. All three of us know how hard it is to technically turn while running you harder-than-hardest, so that would take time and would probably cost the man we were chasing his 'lead'.

Next thing I knew, I burst onto the main road once more and from there, the man with the file and Mr. Wright on his ten-year-old bike were right there.

"Justice! Get him!" Mr. Wright screamed at me with a satisfactory smile on his face. It was clear that he was pretty proud that his plan had almost worked.

To be honest, considering our age and our lifestyles these days, we all knew that our bodies oculd take so much. After stopping to take a look and assess the situation, my body lost its momentum and all of the energy I lost with that mad dash was taken out on me all at once at the moment. All I could do was walk in the man-we-were-chasing's way.

"Ahh! No!" the man screamed.

And he ran right into me.

Actually, if he 'ran right into me' we both would've fallen to the ground with a thud.  
He actually charged at me, knocking to the side and allowing him free access to the remainder of the road towards a main street.

With MANY passing cars.

(In other words, this was his chance to ESCAPE. You know, if the guy can get through the cars zooming left and right while his 'side' is on red light... and if he waited for the traffic light to run green, we'd probably catch up to him, apprehend him, and take back whatever was in that file.)

"Stop right there!" Mr. Wright screamed as he zipped right past me on his bike, not even helping me get up. I got up on my own anyways, dusting off the random gravel on my clothes, then running after as though I would make a difference.

The man by the road hesitated a bit and slowed down, but he still ran to the road.

And what happened next was just... epic.

The man suddenly bolted through the cars.  
The cars tried to avoid him (key word being TRIED).  
In the end, the man left a trail of devastation as the cars that tried to avert him crashed into other cars, causing a chain reaction.  
We chased right after him through the path, hot on his trail, while the victim drivers started cussing at the man (and us even though we did NOTHING).  
And then suddenly, the man trumps us by boarding a bus last minute and getting away from us.

However, a sheet of paper fluttered out of the file and landed right on my face.

And so the man we were chasing was lucky enough not to die after running through a street with cars that could possibly kill you.

But by the way Mr. Wright grabbed the sheet off my face and smiled as he read it said that we have recovered a crucial piece of paper that seems to be enough to make sure that the other person wouldn't be able to complete whatever puzzle he was attempting to complete with that file.

* * *

In the end, Mr. Wright and myself walked back to his place, but he sure did try to lose me by pedalling faster than I could walk. We were both insanely tired from that epic fail chase scene and needed some rest, considering that we didn't get any sleep at all last night.

By the time we got back to Mr. Wright's place, we both just slumped onto his couch drenched in sweat.

"Well you know what, though that chase ended in almost complete failure, we at least managed to recover an important document and get some good exercise!" I said in a sarcastically cheery voice. Mr. Wright groaned in response and sighed.

"Thanks Apollo." Mr. Wright sighed. I looked at him with a confused look on my face.

"Thanks? For what?"

"For going along with everything, even though right now I should kick you out of my house."

"Oh."

Mr. Wright got up and grabbed a bottle of grape juice. He offered some to me, but I didn't accept it (I was more of a fan of actual red wine myself). He drank right from the bottle and gulped it down.

"You know Apollo... though I still don't think I should let you in on what you're looking for, I think you deserve some form of reward. I will let you investigate my house as soon as I leave. Investigate all you'd like."

A smile formed on my face. "Really?"

Phoenix nodded in response. He then got up with his bottle of grape juice, grabbed the bag on the floor, and left the house. "Make sure to lock up as soon as you're done." he called back behind him.

And he was gone.  
Allowing me to have the privacy I needed to investigate.

_One hour later..._

It took me an hour to realize what just happened.

There was no way Mr. Wright would let me find something of importance.  
It was just a way to trick me.  
It was just a way to escape!  
Right under my nose!

I found nothing in my investigation that proved of any value. To be honest, the only thing I did find was what I found an hour later... a letter meant for me.

It was in Mr. Wright's writing and though it was legible, it was pretty messy and rushed. On the front, it had my name on it, not a letter out of place. I opened it and read it out loud in the empty building.

_Apollo,_

_By the time you find this, I should be out of the city (at least) and you will have broken into my house and started investigating. I knew that you would do something like that from the start, so no need to worry._

_Anyways, I'm sorry to say, but I needed to leave as soon as I can. If you remember the phone call I was on when Trucy was shot, I was talking to an important person and I need to do something for him to make all of our lives better._

_Because of this, I have to leave, so all I'm asking is that you take care of Trucy for now because I don't think I will be available to pick her up and take care of her. I will leave constant updates on what is happening, though you should know that there will be no way of tracing me, so don't even bother trying._

_Whatever happens to me, I'm sorry I had to dump this on you, especially after the completion of your fourth case. Please forgive me and thank you for being such a great apprentice. I hope that in the end, you will have the guts to go to some new law office and get a better job than what I have been providing you lately. Thank you for taking care of Trucy and I promise that in the end, I will explain everything to you._

_~Phoenix Wright~_

"Damn you Wright!" I screamed at the top of my lungs up to the ceiling, my Finger of Death pointing at the unsightly lightbulb on the ceiling. "How long do you think you will be away? And how do you expect me to be able to take care of Trucy if I'm unemployed?"

I was absolutely furious! My fist and teeth were clenched and I was so tempted to punch the wall, but this was still not my house and harming someone else's property went against any principles that stuck with me in that moment of utter anger. Instead, all I did was force myself to eat a banana on the counter which calmed me down.

After I managed to get my heart rate to what I thought to be normal, I shoved the letter into my pocket. I need to examine it a bit more before dismissing it for good. I then left the Wright home, locking the door behind me. I was pretty angry that I let him escape right in front of me, not remembering just how clever a man like Phoenix Wright was. Everything I needed to help finish this puzzle was in that duffle bag he was carrying with him.

So now all I can do is live and take care of Trucy as soon as the hospital releases her.

But for now, I'm stuck waiting.

This is probably my fifth case.  
Great.

Each case brings a new beginning.  
But right now, the beginning of this particular case brought on a sense of emptiness.

I'm lost.  
I'm have no leads.  
I'm nowhere.

I'm at a dead end already.

This is a dead beginning.

* * *

A/N: STOP MOCKING ME! If you knew me well enough, you would know that my personality was never capable enough to make any epic fight/chase scenes!

"Meh! Respect you elders! =P"

Anyways, it's pretty clear that judging from the length, it's obvious that I had a good inspiration.  
And that this was an important chapter.

And though the first one is OBVIOUSLY...  
wrong.

And the second one is OBVIOUSLY...  
right.

This really is only the beginning!  
(Wow, this is gonna be one LONG story...)

So you better get ready because summer vacation is coming and I'm ready to finish this story at high gear (maybe an update every other day? =3)!

And the most important question of the day is:  
Who the heck was that weird guy stealing the file?

And as soon as you figure EXACTLY who he is, this story will come to a whole new different perspective.

But of course, NONE of you know... only I do (for once)!  
So guess all you like, but I'm pretty sure none of you will get it right.

For you know, it could be an OC! ;)  
Good luck!


	9. Dead Body on My Doorstep

_"I seldom end up where I wanted to go, but almost always end up where I need to be."  
~Douglas Adam~_

* * *

_I made a mad dash towards my bike right outside my home. After placing the bag slung over my shoulder carefully onto the handlebars of my bike, I took a second to have one final glance at my home and the thought of Apollo scouring my private home in search for non-existent evidence._

_Anything that probably would have been able to help him in his investigation is in the duffle bag hooked onto my handlebars._

_I pity the kid. I didn't want to be so... cruel, but it is the only way I could slip under his nose at the time.  
While he was blinded with the thought of what he could find and benefit from the tampered house, I would be able to leave because his attention wasn't necessarily on me anymore but on what he may find. _

_Though I may have felt proud of myself for thinking of something like that on the fly, the thing is, I had actually set up something like that as a sort of back-up plan in case a scenario such as that occurred. _

_I walked the bike and my belongings over to the street in front of me. I looked forward over the horizon, reminiscing on the little chase Apollo and I had of that person who stole an important file from me._

_First order of business: Get that file back.  
I need it if I want to be able to complete my second order of business._

_Second order of business: Complete the task he/she assigned me.  
That way, I'll be able to save Maya._

_Staring forward caused the shine of the Sun to blind me. I straightened my beanie and provided a bit of shade for my eyes with my hand._

_Then I caught myself thinking: "Am I making this a bit too over-dramatic?"_

_Nah.  
Compared to everything else in my life, this is nothing._

_I took one final glance back at my home, hoping I didn't forget anything important in there.  
I'm about to leave my old peaceful life for a while.  
I'm not sure when I'll come back._

_Then I swung my right leg over the bike seat, sat down, positioned myself.  
Placed my foot on the peddle.  
Pressed down._

_And started moving._

_Next thing I knew, I was pedaling hard, unable to stop because of the momentum.  
And the fact that the uphill portion of my street was coming up and I needed as much speed as possible if I wanted to keep up the pace._

_If I did this on a normal day in my ex-attorney life, I would be as tired as all hell.  
But considering what I've been through this morning, this was nothing._

_"Apollo, I'm so sorry." I thought in my head. "Sorry for leaving you like this..." I honestly started to feel a wave of guilt cut through me... I still was feeling sorry for him, Trucy, and anyone else who felt like I was abandoning them._

_I really hope the kid makes sure to lock the door on his way out._

_I finally reached the busy intersection and was suddenly forced to stop there, even though my body wanted me to keep going. The momentum was pretty large and stopping caused the tired to skid, but fortunately not throw me off. I stared out into the distance in frustration.  
The traffic light was red._

_Sometimes, I really do think I over-dramatize simple event in my life.  
Oh well... makes my life more epic. _

_Which is why I enjoyed screaming loudly in court.  
Brings back life to the dullness that is law._

_Speaking of which, I have the feeling I will be doing that sometime soon._

_Green light means go.  
And like a secret agent in an agency on the verge of bankruptcy, I was off._

* * *

Chapter Nine: Dead Body on My Doorstep

By the time I left the Wright household, it was three in the afternoon. Phoenix Wright was long gone and I was all alone to ponder on what to do next and take care of my ex-mentor's daughter. The only real evidence I found was the letter Mr. Wright gave me and his new personal mail I decided to pick up along the way in case it contained something important.

I sighed in defeat and walked slowly in the direction of my house (starting to regret not bringing a suitable mode of transportation in the morning... I can't believe I ran all the way here). By the time I did arrive in my own personal house, it was around five.. the sun was starting to set and such.

I unlocked the door, stepped in, and slumped on the chair in dire need of any form of rest/sleep/meditation/etc.

And in seconds I was asleep.

By the time I did wake up, it was 8 in the evening. It was getting darker outside, but the sun wasn't down just yet. I grabbed the letter out of my pocket, groaning for a bit because I had slept on it.. now it was all crooked and such. I read it over and several things seemed to stick out in my mind.

For one, what did he mean by saying (or rather writing) "I need to do something for him to make all over our lives better."? Thinking on the sentence and what came before it, it was clear that first off, one of the keys to solving everything would be to find out who that man was on the phone with Mr. Wright at the time and what their conversation revealed. If I can find that out, maybe I will be able to finally find a piece of the puzzle.

Second off, he claimed that he would leave constant updates, but being on the lam like he is, I doubt that the "updates" will come as frequent as he made it seem in the letter. I guess I have something to look forward from him, though now that I think about it, he will make sure that he won't reveal anything in those phone calls...

...but knowing my mentor's habit of insinuating, there may be some clues in those conversations, so ahead of time, I made sure to record any incoming calls that came to my cell phone, my home phone, and (when I went back to the Wright Anything Agency tomorrow) the office phone.

Glancing at the clock once more revealed that it really was getting late, so instead of sleeping again, I stuffed the letter in my pocket and got up to make myself some dinner. After searching through the small cupboards and refrigerator in my tiny apartment only to find that all I have for now is some leftover spaghetti, I took it out of the fridge and threw it into the microwave lazily. The bowl bounced off the wall of the inner microwave and after rapidly pressing "reheat", I started it up and let the radiation commence.

I sat back down in a chair by my puny office/dining table and sighed. I still had to complete the paperwork from the last case. I still have all this work to do and suddenly I remember that I don't REALLY have to do it anymore. I mean, I AM an unemployed idiot.

Well, even if I'm unemployed, I guess it wouldn't hurt to finish a BIT of this paperwork.  
I mean, I can see the pile of paper just haunting me in my dreams...

_"Apollo... finish me..." the demon paperwork howled in the ominous wind. Another large amount of intense thunder rumbled all around me, lightning immediately following it, ripping through the skies as though someone were tearing reality apart. _

_I staggered on the edge of the cliff. The monster pile was forcing me over the bottomless pit of torture just over this edge. "No! No! Don't eat me!" I cried. There was nothing I could do. I tried to get myself to wake up by slapping myself, but it wasn't working. "C'mon Apollo! Wake up so you can finish the damn paperwork!"_

_I mentally scoured for a solution. "No... no..." I whispered to myself as the realization dawned upon me. There was only one way I could wake up and save myself._

_I had to kill myself first._

_I jumped off the edge of the cliff..._

Yeah.  
It happens.

The microwave beeped, proud to claim that it had finally finished nuking whatever its contents were. I got up once more, shaking the idea of demon paperwork out of my head completely and brought out the spaghetti that was now warm and just about as good as new.

On the walk back, I made sure to grab a fork with me to I could eat it.  
And so I started to eat up my poorly prepared dinner, finishing up as much paperwork as I could between bites. After finishing the bowl of spaghetti, I wiped the remainder of tomato sauce off my face and got up to throw the bowl and fork into the sink.

As I made my move to turn on the tap and start washing the dishes, I relaxed a bit in the thought of just watching TV the rest of this night, then falling asleep.

And just as the one in the back of my mind expected (A/N: OMG, I broke the fourth wall), that wasn't meant to be.

Just as I was about to start washing my fork, I heard a shriek and a large thump.  
It was coming from just outside my door.

Holding my fork (almost as though it would make a pretty good form of self-defense), I walked over to the door.

And opened it.

Only to find a dead body upon my doorstep.

"Whaa-" I stammered.

Only to soon be knocked in the head by what I believe was the mysterious assailant.

My body crumpled onto the body. I could feel some fresh blood splash onto my face. With whatever remaining consciousness and energy my body had, I used it to look up and get as good a look as I can get on the person.

But the only thing I could see before jumping into the abyss was a single raven's wing.

* * *

Next thing I knew, I was woke up to a rude awakening by a couple of prison guards jabbing their batons into me.

"C'mon and wake up, pretty boy!" One of the guards, presumably the taller one, sneered. I groaned awake and tussled the batons away. Jabbing me in the stomach wasn't helping with the whole "waking up" process. In fact, it tempted me to sleep more in order to dream away this unnecessary torture.

Unfortunately, according to the both of the guards attitudes, something like that wasn't going to happen by a long shot.

I forced myself awake and by the time I was half-aware of my situation, I finally took the time to assess my condition. For some reason, I seem to have woken up in one of the detention center's cells. I recognised it easily, considering that I've been in one of these before.

In fact, now that I think about it, this cell seems to be the exact same one I was about ten years ago judging from its position in the structure. It was just three cells away from the door leading to the outside world facing north, which was the same as the cell I had last time (I honestly never figured that I would end up here again in my lifetime).

As the guards let me out of my cell and directed me towards the interrogation room, I finally found myself thinking a vital question: What the hell was I doing here?

As far as I knew, I didn't commit any crimes and such.  
(Well, not yet... hehe...)

And as soon as I thought that, memories of what took place last night started to flood me. It was only pieces seeing as that I was on the brink of unconsciousness at the time, but I can tell that someone had attacked me, though I'm not even sure if it was a male or a female.

And this is also where I realized that I was probably being accused of murdering that person I happened to collapse on. I WAS the only person on the scene (probably) because the other person, the murderer, most likely fled after knocking me out.

With the memories however came the pain and next thing I knew, the my head started throbbing, all of the pain seemingly originating from the area where my assailant knocked me on my temple.

That's great.  
Now my head AND my side where the guards were jabbing me hurt.

I guess it wasn't just the guards who were having a bad day...  
(Judging from the pain, they were jabbing me pretty hard... heck, I don't even remember guards jabbing people awake to be part of protocol... they must be pretty grumpy...)

As soon as I made it in the isolated room, looking to the one-way mirror once more, nostalgia flooded me. I remember last time, waving meekly at the mirror, unsure as to who was on the other side. Now, ten years later, I've found myself in the same position.

And because of experience, I know more.  
On the other side should be the prosecutor of my case and the head detective (and because I just HAPPENED to live in that sector, it was probably Ema Skye).

Finally, someone stepped into the room and I was caught off guard.  
I had been expecting Ema, but this guy was NOTHING like her.

He was a pretty scruffy detective with a grimy "green" trench coat (I'm not even sure if the coat is supposed to be green... maybe it became that colour over time). He had a pencil that seemed as though it was forever lodged on the top of his ear and had a piece of sports tape (or a bandage) on his chin. He also had a wedding band on his ring finger, suggesting that the man had a wife.

"Hello Mr. Justice." the man exclaimed. His voice was gruff, but I could tell that he was friendly. "My name is Detective Dick Gumshoe, but you can just call me 'Gumshoe'. Everyone already does, so I'm fine with it."

"Alright Gumshoe." I replied. "Umm... exactly WHAT are the charges placed against me?"

"You should know already!" Gumshoe exclaimed. He frowned at me vehemently and I meekly raised my hands in defeat.

"I'm sorry sir." I replied quickly. "I'm pretty sure I'm innocent because I don't remember performing any crimes last night... so it would be nice if you could inform me of what the charges are...?"

"Oh... sorry pal." Gumshoe replied. He started scratching the back of his head. "It's just that everyone got off to a bad start this morning. I got into an argument with my wife and the prosecutor of this case. Every single part of me is sore, I cu myself shaving again, I didn't eat breakfast..."

Oh great!  
Now I'm stuck listening to a scruffy detective's woes!

I sighed. "Alright, no wonder. Can we get on with this interrogation?"

"Hey, no need to be so hasty pal!"

"Oh, I'm sorry Gumshoe... it's just that this IS my LIFE on the line at the moment..."

"Hey, no need to be so dramatic pal!"

And so with that over with, the interrogation can finally commence.

* * *

**(A/N: Yes, I am skipping interrogation for my own personal reasons... I have NEVER been good at writing about interrogations/interviews and such, so there. Oh yeah, Apollo was being charged for **_sexual abuse, possession of a firearm, _**and **_murder_**, simply because of the conditions of the body which just HAPPENED to be a poor woman.)**

I was finally let out of the room, appalled at the circumstances of this murder. How could I of all people become involved in something like this? Well, I just hope that I manage to get out of here in a hurry because I need to take care of Trucy!

Oh man, now that I think about it, when IS Trucy being released from the hospital anyways? I hope it's when I'm released from this prison.

Well, then again, technically this ISN'T a prison because about half the people here are probably innocent anyway... LIKE ME!

So there I was, just sitting there in my lonely cell waiting for any defense attorneys that want to defend me in this case or for the state-appointed attorney to come. I wondered if I should do what Mr. Wright did back in his glory days... should I defend myself?

I wondered if I was good enough... if I had enough skill to pull off a stunt like defending myself...

I wondered if the court would even allow it?

I mean, they may have allowed it in Mr. Wright's case, but that was a special case. He was ALREADY in charge of defending the first defendant in that case... but then the blame shifted over to him because of the witness (I can't remember his name, but I do remember laughing at it because of the American pun it provided).

I figured that's why they let him defend himself.  
And the fact that he didn't trust anyone else to put his life in their hands probably also pushed in his favour.

In my case however, I'm the original suspect, so I need to find myself a defense attorney. Plus, I doubt that the court will be so lenient this time around. It's been ten years and major changes have been made to the law system.

Well, if my state-appointed attorney looks incompetent, I guess I have no choice but to defend myself like my mentor did before.

Only thing is, how the hell am I supposed to know if an attorney is "incompetent"?  
Dammit!

Why isn't Mr. Wright an attorney? I would be GLAD to put my life in his hands, even after all that's happened. I recall him taking the bar exam a little before he disappeared after my third case. It was big news at the time (Well, to Trucy and I, okay?).

But when are the results going to come back?  
NOBODY knows...

As I think on that thought however, I realize that the results of the exam should be coming in any day now. I then remember the mail I managed to pick up just before leaving the Wright household. Maybe the results are there?

I know this was a long shot, but heck, I bet some of Mr. Wright's "luck of the devil" rubbed off on me (I know how unlikely something like that is, but it's worth a shot). I called out to the guard and requested the presence of that Gumshoe character. Gumshoe came three minutes later (I guess this detective had nothing else to do judging by how quick his response time was... it was faster than the medics).

"Are you ready to confess to your crime pal?" Gumshoe exclaimed giddily. I sighed in annoyance.

"No, I'm not confessing to ANY crime today buddy!" I replied back. Gumshoe then immediately pouted and I started to feel bad for the guy.

"So then why did you call me? I need to go and review some more of the evidence for your case."

"Oh that's perfect!" I exclaimed. Maybe they picked up the mail as evidence. "Hey Gumshoe, I was wondering, did you happen to see some mail on the front table by the door?"

"Actually yeah. That was the evidence I'm reviewing right now. How did you know about it?" Gumshoe asked amazed.

Well, that was a retarded question.  
Of COURSE I knew about it! This is my HOME we're talking about. Of course I know what's in there!

"Well, I was wondering if I could look at it right now..." I murmured, but Gumshoe picked it up.

"Oh sure. No problem pal!" Gumshoe replied. "Besides, there's nothing suspicious about any of the letters in the first place. It has nothing to do with the case." At that, he ran off to retrieve the letters and I sighed in relief. I'm surprised... he said that there was nothing suspicious. The letters were addressed to the Wrights, not to me.

I guess this is one incompetent detective, considering that he was letting the defendant examine evidence.

The detective soon came back with the letters I was hoping for. "Here ya go, pal!" Gumshoe smirked. He gave me the letters and watched me as I reviewed them (I guess that was fair). I was glad that these were the right ones. I'm still surprised that Gumshoe didn't notice that all of these were addressed to Mr. Wright. Many of them were collection bills, but there was one letter that drove tears to my eyes.

It was a letter from Ivy University.  
The results were in.

Damn, was I one lucky person!

* * *

A/N: You know what would go well with the last three phrases... that theme on "Who Wants to be a Millionaire" (du-du-du-du-dunn!)

Anyways, I'm pretty angry at myself right now. I've been wanting to go for chapters that were now 4000-5000 words long, so I'm pretty angry at this chapter. I hated it... oh well. Sorry for the long wait and bad results... I encountered a TON of problems along the way. I'm trying my hardest to upload as fast as I can, but with the coming of about four new fanfics I'm working on and such, quality and progress has been difficult, so I'm sorry about that. (Please forgive mee!)

Random thought... go back over to the part where Apollo was imagining his nightmare. There is a phrase there that says how the only way he can save himself is by killing himself. My dad just happened to read that phrase without reading the other parts of the nightmare and thought I was writing a suicide note to myself or something! (No jokes) I'm just saying... that was one of the strangest things I've been through in my life... don't worry peoples... PXLight isn't jumping off a cliff anytime soon! XD Take a breather and relax!

Oh yeah, remember last chapter where I asked if anyone can figure out who the person who stole the file was? Yeah, just so you know, I didn't mean to make Phoenix say "E-"... that was a pretty major typo on my part. So because of that, I made sure to change it so he says "D-" instead. Thanks MattsyKunTEPHA for letting me realize this "catastrophic" mistake.

Oh-kay, so as a reward for reading my rambles, here's a (extremely) short excerpt from "Chapter 10" ahead of time.

###

I ripped open the letter carefully and removed the papers inside. Gumshoe looked interested in what I had in my hand because this was the first letter I had opened amongst the pile. He also looked pretty concerned that I was tampering with the evidence.

"Gumshoe, look." I whispered to him. He was like my new friend considering all he had done for me, so in return, I let him have a peek at what I had in my hand. He read the top and was surprised to find the name "Phoenix Wright" on top of what appeared to be results of some test... the bar exam!

"Hey pal... why do you have Mr. Wright's test results?" Gumshoe whispered back. We both felt the need to be a little more secretive at the moment.

"To be honest, I'm not sure why you didn't find the fact that I had Mr. Wright's mail suspicious in the first place!" I hissed back. I flipped the results back to me quickly, excited to find out what Mr. Wright got (Now that I really think about it, isn't it strange that I get to read Mr. Wright's results before he does? Oh well.).

My eyes scrolled down the page looking at each word and number.  
In the end, my mind almost blew up at the idealistic conclusion.

Phoenix Wright was a legal attorney once more.

* * *

A/N: And that ends that! Love how I give awards for reading my ramblings! XD It's still a cliff-hanger in my opinion. Now what will become of it? Oh yeah, I'm aware that there are some confusing aspects in this chapter (I'm too lazy to review), so feel free to ask me about them.

Oh yeah, along with whoever stole the file the other day, good luck trying to guess who that person who knocked Apollo out is/what a "single raven's wing" means! I swear it's too obvious! XD


	10. Falling in Ashes

_A/N: Oh yeah, the majority of this chapter is in Phoenix's POV... just warning you ahead of time._

_

* * *

_

_A man from hell isn't afraid of hot ashes._

_

* * *

_

_"Alright Wright, I will give you the address of the pick-up and where you are to deliver said package." said the man on the phone._

_"Alright." I replied softly. I didn't want Apollo and Trucy to overhear it. I could already hear Trucy's attempted hushed tone through the door. It was clear that my prediction was right: Apollo would be continuing his investigation and Trucy was glad to oblige. It was obvious that they were trying to eavesdrop, but I made sure that whatever they were able to pick up, it wouldn't lead them anywhere._

_"I will drop off a large package in a black Kevlar bag at the docks. It will be right by the yacht known as 'Sainte Marie IV'."_

_"You have a yacht?" I smirked. "I've always wanted to ride in one, but alright. Please continue."_

_"You will then bring the package with you. You do not need to handle it carefully as the package isn't fragile or anything of the sort."_

_"Good to know because the only form of transportation I have is a bike."_

_The phone managed to pick up my blackmailer's groan. "You will then take the package out of its bag and drop it off at this address-" He gave me the address and I committed it to memory. I remember finding it strange that the address was leading me to a certain apartment building floor and door number. I could swear that I've heard of this address before and I searched my mind to figure out who it belonged to, but I just couldn't remember. My mind wasn't being very co-operative today._

_"Okay, is that all?" I asked through the phone._

_"Of course not, Wright!" the person on the other end of the phone chanted. I braced myself for what would come next. "I need to see if you would do everything I say exactly first."_

_"What? How?" I was really concerned about what the man would ask me to do. _

_"I'm going to have to ask you to shoot the center of the door in front of you." The person read my thoughts. "Remember that I currently have surveillance on you, so I will be able to see if you can successfully complete this task."_

_I thought for a second what the risks are of this task. It was obvious that the door was nothing close to bullet-proof and the bullet would be able to easily pierce said door and hit anything else behind it. I already knew Trucy was against the door as well and even if she wasn't, the bullet could easily continue its course and hit anyone else who was in front of the door (which could easily be Apollo just walking past it). _

_That is why I decided to aim for the center alright.  
But it would be angled so the bullet would be aiming for the floor just by the door so it was less likely that someone would get hurt. If Trucy was standing up and leaning against the door, then the bullet should just land between her legs or something like that._

_"Damn, there's no time to over-think this through!" I mentally cursed and fired the gun._

_After watching the bullet pass through the door, I waited, my eyes suddenly foggy of all the things that could have gone wrong with my idea. All I could do was patiently wait for the person on the other phone to tell me that was all so I can get on with the rest of my life. _

_I could hear slight giggles over the phone, but I figured that I just managed to out-smart him. For some reason, my confidence began to grow larger and I began to smirk at the idea. I was actually pretty proud of myself for finding such a loop-hole. It was unlikely that, with the range of the bullet, someone was shot._

_Next thing I knew, the door began to open.  
I watched as Apollo stumbled through the door, his eyes wide with fear and shock. _

_I would have made the emotion transition from giddy to concerned, but like I was saying, my mind REALLY wasn't being co-operative with me today. _

_Suddenly the person on the phone came on.  
"Congratulations Wright... it's clear that you managed to shoot someone in there... your daughter perhaps..." The electronic voice was laughing like there was no end! "Because only your subordinate has stepped out, I think that it is believable that my prediction is rather accurate"._

_Those words sparked something in my head and as soon as my being had a full concept on what had just happened, my entire world seemed to collapse._

_I had just shot my own daughter._

_

* * *

_

Chapter Ten: Falling In Ashes

And now here I was, pedalling my hardest through the docks in search of a yacht known as Sainte Marie IV to pick up the package, drop it off, and save Maya. Eventually, I did find it.

The Sainte Marie IV was beautiful. It was clear that its hull had just been newly polished; the white exterior seeming as though it were causing the very water it is in contact with to glow along with the setting sun on the horizon. My face seemed to shine on the white surface and I could tell that I had probably been crying on the way hear as I examined my reflection and noticed tear streaks all over my face.

I was NOT in good shape.

There was a black Kevlar bag right beside the boat, just as Maya's kidnapper had told me. I picked it up and was immediately surprised by its feel and weight. I threw it over my back and started pedalling home (fortunately, I found that the bag had a shoulder strap, so I could sling it over my shoulder and focus on pedalling back with my bike).

The address the man gave me was mercifully close to the docks. It didn't take me too long to get there. Next thing I knew, it was around ten and I was in front of the address... it was a small suburban apartment. I parked my bike outside and rode the elevator to the floor. I then walked a bit more and finally found myself in front of the door. Now to do what I need to do, then go sleep somewhere.

Now that I think about it, I could have changed the address and several events after this wouldn't have taken place. I guess at the time, I figured that if I tried to twist the man's words or change them in a way, something catastrophic like last time (shooting Trucy) may occur again. Last time, I attempted to find a loop-hole in the man's statement and that ended up pretty badly. If I followed them like the way he had meant for it to happen, what happened at that time may have never happened and Trucy wouldn't be in the hospital right now...

I couldn't have put the package anywhere else in fear that if I messed something up, something else might go wrong. I opened the package in front of the door.

And was shocked to see the body of a dead girl in it.

Several pieces started to connect in my head.

The blackmailer was a murderer.  
I was his "partner-in-crime".  
And whoever was in the apartment was about to be framed.

"Oh damn..." I whispered to myself. "How the hell did I get myself into this mess...?" I gently lifted the body out of the bag, making sure my hands were in my sweater sleeves, and placed it in front of the door.

And as I did so, I was surprised to feel warmth in the body. Her face also wasn't as pale as a dead body should be (I would know... I've seen many dead bodies in my life time... even pictures of them CLOSE UP!).

Out of habit (even though part of me knew she was dead), I checked for a pulse.

And I JUST happened to find a pulse.  
Oh damn, she was alive!

I panicked and pulled out my phone. Though it was unlikely, I found the number the blackmailer last used and re-dialled it. I wasn't even sure if it would work, but fortunately, it did.

"Yes?" the blackmailer answered calmly.

"Why did you make me drop off an unconscious woman in front of this door? What's going to happen?"

I heard the person over the phone curse his head off and start panting. "She's alive?" he hissed frantically.

Next thing I knew, I could tell that the woman was waking up. "And she's waking up too!" I said back. I was panicking as well for some reason. The man had made me carry the body of a supposed-to-be dead girl to this door and if anyone in this apartment decided to walk down this hallway and saw me here in this condition, I would be so screwed.

"Dammit, Wright! Do something!" I wasn't sure if the voice was from the phone or from behind me because I swear my mind was going delusional.

The next event that took place were foggy.

The next thing I knew, I was dazed and couldn't understand anything around me.  
The girl finally regained full consciousness and saw me.  
She screamed.  
There was a gunshot.  
And she was dead.  
I was on my feet holding a smoking gun with my sleeve (meaning that there were no fingerprints).

The event felt so disembodied, but from seeing what I saw at the time, guilt rose to my head and my sub-consciousness was telling me that I had done it. No one else could have.

And problems only continued to pile up.

The resident of the apartment must have heard because he opened the door in front of me holding a fork in his hand.  
And I mentally cursed.

No wonder the address seemed so familiar.  
I HAD to have seen it... considering that I used to be his boss.

The resident of this apartment was none other than my ex-apprentice Apollo Justice.

We never made eye contact because he was too busy being shocked at the dead girl before him. I couldn't let him see me like this, so I knocked him out, striking him hard in the temple with my elbow. The blow normally only knocked people out for fifteen minutes, but my adrenaline pushed me and I knocked him too hard... he'll probably wake up in the morning.

I was concerned that he saw me as his eyes seemed to gaze at my face in wonder as his legs buckled and his body landed on top of the dead girl's body, blood splashing onto his face. His eyes then seemed to dulled as he fell into unconsciousness. I closed his eyelids and let him drift off.

I wanted to just walk away, but I couldn't. Guilt was driving my every move now, but I tried to enforce some form of logic in it as I headed for the elevator.

Unfortunately, guilt and logic is never a good thing.  
The combination forms a force so dark that suddenly, I would do anything to pin the blame on anyone other than me. My body wanted to make me feel even more guilty than I was right now.

It was strange that no one was coming out, but I guess it was late. I couldn't make any witnesses. I walked back over to the crime scene and placed the gun (which was without my fingerprints) and put them in Apollo's hand. I then picked up the black Kevlar bag and pretended that there was still something in there as I exited the building itself and threw it out (and buried it for good measure) in the dumpster. The garbage collection should be tomorrow, so that piece of evidence will be eliminated.

As I got on my bike and pedalled back to nowhere, my consciousness suddenly started attacking my brain, racking my mind with images of what just happened.

"I'm a killer now..." I whispered to myself as though I would be able to find some comfort in those words. "I'm a killer and I pinned the blame on Apollo..." I felt an addicting high as the adrenaline pumped through my veins and it pushed me on.

* * *

I don't know how long I pedalled after that, but I soon ended up in a park... most likely People Park. I was sleeping on a bench and I just woke up. Judging from the Sun, it was probably about six in the morning. My head sub-consciously reviews the events that took place last night and kept telling me that I'm a frikin' murderer. I get on my bike again and pedal off back to the docks because I might be able to wash off there or something.

On the way, police cars pass me on the way to the apartment building. Maybe they got Apollo and are now investigating? It doesn't concern me until they figure out that I was there.

And once I thought that, my guilty conscious started telling me something.  
_"Defend Apollo..."_

I took out the attorney's badge the blackmailer gave me a few days ago. I knew that using it would be illegal, considering that I'm not an attorney yet. If people were to find the truth, Apollo may be charged for more than what he's under now. I would suffer consequences as well. However, if I left Apollo alone, he might end up with a crappy attorney and end up being charged for something I, of ALL people, KNOW he didn't do.

Should I defend him and risk facing even more illegality?  
Or do I just leave him alone and hope Fate will have mercy on him?

Dammit! The choice is so damn difficult to make!

I stuffed the badge back in my pocket, my mind racking at the question. I wasn't sure WHAT to decide. My stupid principles were pushing me to just stay and pray for him while my guilt was pushing me to defend him. It was fifty-fifty and I swear I nearly crashed into a tree while deep in thought.

I soon make it to the docks and exactly then, the blackmailer finally decides to call me.

"Job well done, Wright." the black-mailer smirked. "In exchange, I will allow you to speak with my hostage."

"What!" I screamed into the phone, but my voice was rather hoarse. Maybe I was screaming for real like I was in my nightmares. "Let Maya go already!" Tears were in my eyes. I had to go through all that... and all I get is a little conversation with the person I was trying to save. My mind tried to look at the glass half full and thought that something like this could become a tactical advantages, but the remainder of my body wouldn't listen and ignored poor old mind.

I waited a few minutes after agreeing to such a thing.

Next thing I knew, I was listening to a familiar voice through the speakers of my phone. Even though the voice was screaming at me desperately, I found the familiarity of it to be calming and soothing.

"Get it together, Wright!" I mentally retorted in my head. "Maya's screaming your name!"

"NICK!" Maya screeched into the other end. Fortunately, I had been expecting it, so I had the phone away from my ear just in case. Hearing her voice again nearly drove me to tears, but I made sure to keep it in.

"Maya!" I replied back, my voice full of relief. I was glad that the mysterious person allowed her to take off the voice changer so I could hear her real voice instead of hearing her voice become warped through the machine. "Listen. Do you know who your kidnapper is?"

"No, I'm sorry Nick. I have no clue..." If I saw her right now as she said that, her eyes would probably be directed away from my own gaze feeling as though she had failed me in some way.

"Don't worry about Maya." I said in a way that meant that I forgive her completely. I don't want her beating herself up over something that I didn't really need to find out. "I promise that I'll get the score settled with whoever did this to you. I'll find who it is either way, no matter what."

"Thanks Nick." Maya sounded a bit happier. I needed to keep her spirits up so I had her fate along with me for the ride.

"Hey, can you call Mia right now?" I asked. She gasped in surprise. The request sure did come out of nowhere.

"Umm... sure. But why do you need to talk to her?" Maya asked, suspicious.

"I need her advice on something."

And that was all she needed.  
It only took a few minutes, but eventually, I found myself on the phone with my own mentor, Mia Fey.

"Phoenix..."

"Mia. It's nice to hear your voice again." I smiled up at the Sun as though that were her face. I knew she couldn't see me and I couldn't see her, but it was a nice feeling to have this kind of reunion, even under the circumstances I was in. "Listen Mia, I'm in a tough bind right now and I really need your help on this."

"Yeah, I can see that." Mia replied sarcastically. "Maya sure is well-fed though. I don't feel like I'm starving. However, the conditions in this place are terrible." I heard a shrill shriek over the phone all of the sudden.

"What is it?"

"A rat just crawled over my foot!"

"Oh..." I couldn't help but give a cheesy grin.

"So what do you need my help with, Phoenix?" Mia asked. "And I can tell that there is something burdening you. What's wrong? You know, either than the fact that Maya has been kidnapped again?"

"Well, see... I think..." I couldn't bring myself to tell the one person who still holds high respects for me that I think I murdered someone... no... that I DID murder someone. "Umm... see, after all that's happened, my apprentice, Apollo, ended up being framed of murder. I know he's innocent, however."

"So?" Mia asked the question as though the answer was obvious. "Go defend him!"

"See, that's the thing Mia. You have been missing out on all that's happened in the past seven years. I'm not a defense attorney anymore. I've been disbarred."

Mia gasped over the phone. She found this to be quite a shock. "I would ask you why, Phoenix, but that's out of the question right now. I'll ask you when we have more time to speak."

"Okay sure. But now what do I do? I mean, do I leave it alone, or do I use my attorney's badge and defend him?"

"But didn't you say you were disbarred?"

"I am! The thing is, the blackmailer gave me a badge for some purpose! I don't know what to do! Should I keep my hands clean and put the life of my apprentice in some other defense attorney or do I take matters into my own hands and defend him while dipping my hands in illegality? I'm not sure what to do anymore!"

There was a long pause.

And then Mia spoke.

"Listen, Phoenix. If I put myself into your shoes, I easily know what I would do. If you were framed for murder and I was somehow disbarred but got a hold of a badge that could possibly be forged, I wouldn't hesitate to defend you anyway, even if it meant risking my and your future. As long as you believe in your defendant's innocence, then don't hesitate, no matter what the circumstance. That's all the advice I can give you in this matter."

Unfortunately for her, she didn't know what the other problem is. Even if I did manage to get Apollo acquitted, at the same time, I would need to find the real killer in the case. And even if I didn't, someone else would have to.

And then that would eventually lead to me being charged with what I was trying to save Apollo from.

Bringing myself to court could be the end of it all. Someone would see through what happened and pin the blame on me. I would then go to jail and Maya's fate would be to the hands of herself and the blackmailer. Trucy would have to be put up for adoption again and Apollo would REALLY be out of a job.

My entire world would collapse.

There was a lot of shuffling. Next thing I knew, Maya's voice came back on the phone. "Nick, whatever you do, make sure to make the right choice. Fight for what you believe in!" And then the phone call abruptly ended.

It was now down to me to make the right choice.

Would I stay in the clear and hope Apollo manages to save himself somehow?  
Or would I risk it all and defend him?

The choice was mine.  
I soon made my decision.  
There was no changing it now.

I rode off, tears nearly blinding me.  
Someone was about to be sacrificed for my deeds.

* * *

I ripped open the letter carefully and removed the papers inside. Gumshoe looked interested in what I had in my hand because this was the first letter I had opened amongst the pile. He also looked pretty concerned that I was tampering with the evidence.

"Gumshoe, look." I whispered to him. He was like my new friend considering all he had done for me, so in return, I let him have a peek at what I had in my hand. He read the top and was surprised to find the name "Phoenix Wright" on top of what appeared to be results of some test... the bar exam!

"Hey pal... why do you have Mr. Wright's test results?" Gumshoe whispered back. We both felt the need to be a little more secretive at the moment.

"To be honest, I'm not sure why you didn't find the fact that I had Mr. Wright's mail suspicious in the first place!" I hissed back. I flipped the results back to me quickly, excited to find out what Mr. Wright got (Now that I really think about it, isn't it strange that I get to read Mr. Wright's results before he does? Oh well.).

My eyes scrolled down the page looking at each word and number.  
In the end, my mind almost blew up at the idealistic conclusion.

Phoenix Wright was a legal attorney once more.

"Holy crap, look at these marks!" exclaimed Gumshoe. "This guy is AMAZING!"

"I know!" I gasped. "How the hell did he get 97% on the bar exam? That beat my score by ten percent!"

"That beat my score by about 33%..." Gumshoe sighed. "Okay pal, now hand me over the letters. Technically, it's still evidence."

"Alright sir." I handed all but one letter. "Can I keep Mr. Wright's test results though? I have the feeling that it will be a lot more handier if I kept them with me. Besides, I'm pretty sure that they have nothing to do with the murder anyways."

Gumshoe didn't even put time aside to reconsider it. "Sure pal. Just don't kill someone with it!" And so the guy left, leaving me in possession with what could possibly save my life.

Now to find a way to get Mr. Wright to see it so he could defend me.

Otherwise, I'm stuck with the state attorney or defending myself.

_Oh... think, Justice, think!_  
But of course, thinking like that ALWAYS gets me nowhere anyways.

* * *

It was a few hours later that I finally got the call that the state had finally appointed an attorney for me and that he or she was here to meet with me right now. I had been sleeping almost peacefully with the results of the bar exam folded up neatly in my pocket along with the letter Mr. Wright had given me. They woke me up and dragged me over to the visitor's room so I can meet with my attorney.

"Alright, it's now or never. I either accept the attorney to defend me in tomorrow's trial or I defend myself. There's no way I can get a chance to show Mr. Wright the results and ask him to defend me. He's probably halfway across the country by now with all this 'secret' business."

I thought of the idea of asking the attorney to find Phoenix Wright for me, but I doubt that something like that would happen. I probably didn't know him anyways.

I entered the visitor's room, greeting the security guard along the way. I felt bad for the man. Every single time I've been here, the man has just been loyally standing there. He was probably bored out of his mind. I wonder if the detention center will decide to promote him some time. He deserved it.

I made it over to the chair by the window where the defense attorney and I would be able to talk. I still wasn't sure how I would be able to judge the person's character and whether they would be able to defend me well or not, but I guess it's now or never.

I look out the little window to get my first look at my state-appointed attorney.  
And I nearly fell out of my seat.

I was looking at a ghost.

* * *

A/N: LOL, many surprising twists in store. Now that I think about it, the story is a bit past half-way. I'm kinda proud of myself for the faster update this time. Only thing is, I was kinda working on this in really rough conditions, so there are bound to be some parts where the story doesn't flow. Blame the endless barking dog and people screaming.

Oh yeah, I forgot. If you didn't understand the single raven's wing comment still, Apollo was referring to Phoenix's hair. Somehow, his eyes seemed to zoom up 'in wonder' onto Phoenix's hair just below his beanie. Go look at a Phoenix sprite and look at the part where his hair is sticking out. Doesn't it look like a 'single raven's wing'? XD

I know, that was terrible. I did that on purpose to throw most off. To all those people who guessed Kay, I congratulate you for guessing, but like I replied back, I don't plan on working with the new AAI characters in any of my fics for a while. Otherwise, haha, you fell for the trick! =P

So there, here's proof that I'm actually trying to improve on my update speed and try to keep the same quality. The story, after the next couple of chapters, is going to go downhill from there, so please review, comment, and stuff. I love reading them! =D

Oh yeah, that quote on the "first" line doesn't belong to me... I can't remember where I got it though, so I'm sorry.


	11. Returning the Favour

_No matter how desperate the situation... instead of giving up like most people, that man would hold strong with his undying faith._

_I raced back over to my home. Apollo clearly rummaged through my stuff like a wild animal, but at least he locked the door before leaving. As I waded through the unfortunate mess my ex-apprentice had left my house in, I was thinking just how the hell my messed-up plan was supposed to work. There were so many things that could screw up with it in an instant that it isn't even remotely funny._

_I finally made it to my room. I knew what I had to do from there. I changed out of the clothes I was in right now. The condition of my sweater was downright atrocious and I just threw them on the floor with the rest of the garbage. I quickly took a shower and quickly shaved off the stubble on my chin. I had to look as innocent as I could to prepare for what was to come next. I don't want to roam the street looking like a grubby hobo... but then again, there was a bit of blood on that sweater. Even worse than appearing as a grubby hobo would be appearing as a crazy sleep-deprived serial killer. _

_Sometimes, my old job drives me nuts._

_I jumped out of the shower and grabbed the first hanger I could find on in my closet and whatever was on there, I threw on. _

_"Man Mia, I bet you're watching me now and I bet you're laughing at me right now along with Diego." I thought to myself grimly. I threw my persona in front of a mirror and took a good look at myself. _

_I was surprised.  
Even after all this time, I never knew I could look so good after a nice shower and quick shave._

_I looked eight years younger._

_Speaking of which, I grabbed my attorney's badge from my other pants. I pinned it onto the lapel of my blue suit. I fixed my salmon tie and looked myself in the eye through the mirror again._

_I DID look eight years younger._

_I fixed my spikes to perfection once more. After one final touch, I smiled to myself in complete satisfaction._

_I was back in my old attorney clothes. I was glad that they hadn't shrunk or I hadn't gained too much weight because they fit me perfectly. _

_I took one more final look in the mirror.  
Perfect._

_I grabbed an empty suitcase that was longing for me to use it. I felt happy to feel its grip once more. I stepped into a pair of loafers, got onto my bike once more, and pedalled off._

_It was time to dip my hands in some illegality._

Chapter Eleven: Returning the Favour

I was staring into the eyes of a ghost. I thought this guy was dead. I thought I had somehow been thrust back into my past, but after thinking about it for a bit, I knew this was all real.

Phoenix Wright was standing on the other side of the window.  
The only thing is, he looked just like how he did eight years ago.

He took a seat on the other side of this glass wall and brought his suitcase up to take a few papers he had just received from the secretary of the Detention Center. It was just a few files on my case. He placed them on the table in front of him.

And then he smiled at me.  
And I started to remember.

Whatever darkness was lurking in my heart was suddenly dispelled.  
This was the same smile he had used eight years ago when I was only fifteen.

I looked into his eyes and I remembered the gratitude I felt from the sight of his kind eyes and calming aura. The only thing is, the eight years have changed him. Even I could tell that part of this was tainted. Now even Phoenix Wright had a lurking darkness he was trying to smother for my own sake. I ignored that dark presence and just allowed myself to wallow in the relief Mr. Wright provided.

Phoenix tapped on the microphone.  
The tapping was pretty clear in the silent room.

"Mr. Justice." Phoenix said through the microphone. I smiled back and nodded in return. "So... how are you feeling?" he greeted.

"I'm fine sir." I replied. I was more than fine though. I was overwhelmed with happiness!

"That's good." Phoenix replied. "But you should already know that I don't like being called 'sir'."

"Oh, I'm sorry about that sir- I mean, Mr. Wright." I stumbled on my words and felt as though I had just tripped and fell. It felt pretty odd, but I started blushing like I did when I was fifteen and Mr. Wright chuckled. "Thanks for providing the nostalgic feeling though, Mr. Wright."

"So you saw through my act, didn't you Apollo?" Mr. Wright gave me a wide grin.

We both smiled at each other.

"Oh yeah, Mr. Wright!" I took out his bar exam results from my pocket. "Check this out!" I held the papers against the window and Phoenix gasped in surprise.

He examined them a bit. "Thank you Mia, for reminding me that I have to pursue the truth." I heard him whisper to himself as he looked up to the ceiling. He must have been talking to the dead or something.

"See? You're a legal attorney, so there's nothing to worry about!" I replied. "No pressure will be on you as you make your re-entrance to the defense bench."

Phoenix smiled at the remark, but after seeing it, I could tell that there was still something bothering him, though the news was beneficial and seemed to take a heavy weight off his shoulders.

"Alright, that's fine." Phoenix remarked. "So... what exactly happened while I was away?"

And so I told him my side of the story all the way until I was knocked out by the killer.  
And after that, Phoenix was deep in thought once more, but then he nodded at me.

"I believe you completely." he told me. "I can't think of any contradictions in that story."

Now there was finally something different.  
I told him the complete truth without hiding something like before.

But that lead me to a concern.  
And Mr. Wright caught it.

"Apollo..." Mr. Wright started. "I need to ask you an important question. Something that will help me decide whether I should defend you or not."

"Alright, what is it?" I asked. I was concerned that Mr. Wright still had yet to decide whether he wanted to defend me or not. I thought that once you're called upon the state to defend someone, you were stuck defending that person. Then again, Mr. Wright didn't even know he was a legal attorney at the time yet and probably used that introduction to get himself in.

And so he dropped the bomb.

"Do you trust me completely? Do you trust me to protect your life? Do you have enough trust in me that I will get you acquitted? Do you trust me as much as I trust you and that I know you are not the killer in this case?"

These question came on rather sudden, but they were perfect. They seemed to solidify all of the doubts that had been running in my head.

All this time, I thought that I would be able to perfectly trust Mr. Wright with this case. I know that, like last time, he would get me acquitted. I wanted to feel that feeling again and so my mind made the assumption that I would be able to trust the man before me.

However, I have gotten to know him better. After all that has happened recently: his mysterious disappearances, his suspicious behaviour, and even the fact that he had forged evidence for my first trial and I ended up using it.

Would I be able to trust the changed man in front of me right now?  
Would I be able to trust that he will be able to save me tomorrow?

Would I be able to trust Phoenix Wright?

I mean, he didn't trust me, his apprentice, and Trucy, his own daughter, enough to tell us the truth of what was going on. Why should I trust him?

There was an odd silence.  
Phoenix looked shifty.

For once, he didn't know what was running through my head.

After a while, I still didn't know what to do. I was suddenly facing indecision.

And just when I was going to tell him that I don't know, he spoke.

"Apollo, I'm sorry." he said. "I'm sorry for not putting my own trust in you. I know I should have told you what was going on from the start, but I didn't trust you enough to tell you. If I have told you, many of the disasters that have happened recently probably wouldn't have happened at all and the man I was trying to nab would probably be under police custody right now."

Where was he going with this?

"If I couldn't put my complete trust in you, then I can see why you can't put your complete trust in me." he continued. "In that case, I guess I should be leaving now."

Oh.  
That's where he was going with this.

This time around, I was fighting back tears.  
He seemed to sincere. This couldn't be an act.

He was actually going to leave me alone.  
He was actually deciding not defend me.

"No wait, Mr. Wright!" I called back out to him. He turned back to me slowly. "It's true that this was the reason I was hesitant in responding..." I started. "...but it doesn't mean that I don't want you as my attorney. My trust may not be 100% with you, but my belief in your success is. I know that you will be able to defend me to the best of your abilities and I know you can prove me innocent. I believe in you, Mr. Wright."

"...I believe in you, Mr. Wright."

Those words made me smile.

Even though I knew that it was mainly my fault that he was in here in the first place, those words gave me back a little bit of the feeling I used to have back in the old days.

I took my place back in the chair in front of Apollo and smiled at him. "Thank you, Apollo." I told him. "Thank you for everything."

Now that I think about it, I doubt he would have said that if he had known the true killer of this case at the time. For all he knew, I could backstab him to avoid suspicion to fall onto me.

But would I really do that?

"Alright Apollo, time for some good news." I suddenly found myself saying. "I know who the killer is and I promise you that I will bring that man to justice."

"Okay. Thank you, Mr. Wright." Apollo clearly was enjoying the news, seeing as he was smiling like an abnormally happy clown. (All of the clowns I have seen in my lifetime were depressed and such. Then again, the last time I saw a clown was on a murder case...) He had nothing to worry about all of the sudden.

I then glance down at my watch. It was 8:54 PM; almost closing time. "Apollo, I have to go now." I told him. "Remember to put in a letter of request form to let me defend you and we should be all set for tomorrow, alright?"

"Yes sir, Mr. Wright sir!" Apollo mock saluted me and I chuckled and saluted him back. His smile seemed to radiate happiness all over the Detention Center. The guy was just too happy to see me.

Too bad that I wasn't as happy as he was.  
And that I was more or less repelling that happiness away. I just don't deserve to see his happiness, let alone be happy myself. I guess I could find joy in doing the right thing, but under the circumstances, it was hard.

Maybe I should give myself the death sentence tomorrow.  
I'll just plead guilty of the crimes and confess and such. Then I'll get what I deserve.

Maybe I'm getting a bit too paranoid with all this.  
Stupid guilt has been eating away at me since yesterday.

I walked back over to the Wright Anything Agency and threw the papers I had received out of my suitcase and onto my desk. I carefully pushed off any props Trucy decided to leave on the surface in order to give myself more space. I grabbed one of my pens and started my pre-trial work.

"Alright, paperwork." I sighed. "It's been a while. Now I better finish you off before I get nightmares about you..."

Ahh... it's almost ten in the morning. My trial is going to start in fifteen minutes. Two police officers escorted me into the defendant's lobby. I noticed that Phoenix still hadn't arrived. I hoped he wouldn't be late or something or I would be so screwed today.

I remember staying up all night thinking about what has happened these past few days. There were so many mysteries lingering that even after I got so far, I'm still confused. I guess I was hoping that many of the loose ends would be resolved today by Mr. Wright. If this trial just brings up more mysteries, I think I'm going to explode.

"Hey, Apollo!"

I looked to the door and found a waving Phoenix smiling cheerfully today.

"Hey Mr. Wright." I replied.

"You ready for today's trial?"

"Of course I am! Why wouldn't I be? I mean, I get to witness the return of Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney! How about you?"

Phoenix chuckled at the statement. "I guess I am pretty excited to get back in the legal action too."

"Yup!" I replied. "Because law has never been more fun!"

We both laughed at that sarcastic phrase.

"Hey, Mr. Wright?"

"Yeah?"

"You said that you know who the murderer is... well, how did you figure it out so quickly? It's not like you were there at the moment of the crime or something...? And who is it?"

Phoenix stayed silent for a while. "Apollo... there's something known as pre-trial investigation. I've been doing it for a while now and I learned that, if done correctly, it should give you an edge on the upcoming trial. I guess my investigating has given me a pretty large edge, so don't worry about it. You should be fine."

I nodded and took his word for it.  
But as soon as that happened, I realized that he just managed to duck away from my questions!

I moved in to protest, but it was too late. Our conversation was over.

"Will the defendant and his defense attorney please make their way into the courtroom?" the bailiff called out into the room before walking off once more.

"Alright, it's show time!" Phoenix whooped. "Let's go, Apollo!"

I smiled. This was going to be a good day. Both Mr. Wright and I were pumped to see the result of this trial. I get to witness the return of the legend and he gets to defend once more.

So let's get this show on the road!

The judge banged the gavel, signalling the trial to begin. I stared at the sight around me. To be honest, I'm already familiar with the defendant's chair, but I still find it kind of weird to be here. I mean, the peanut gallery is staring at me, wondering whether I'm innocent or guilty. Because (A/N: in the Ace Attorney world) the defendant's chair was in the center of the courtroom, I had a good point of view on everything, but every once in a while, one of the people in the peanut gallery would chuck paper at my head (or maybe at my 'antennae') for some reason.

I noticed that the peanut gallery was a lot more crowded than when I would have my trials today. Maybe they were wondering whether I, Apollo Justice, was innocent or guilty. Man, I never knew I had so many fans!

Well, then again, most of them were probably here to see Mr. Wright in action. Maybe these were all his fans and no one gave a damn about me. (A/N: I care for you Apollo... it's just that a lot more people would rather see Phoenix Wright at the defense instead of you...)

"The trial of Mr. Apollo Justice will now commence." The judge was the same one as the one who would oversee my own trials.

"The defense is ready." Phoenix stated firmly.

The gaze then moved over to the prosecutor's bench, but oddly enough...

"Is the prosecution, err, ready?" The judge asked unsteadily.

"Of course the prosecution is ready." the man stated as he got up from behind the bench. "I'm terribly sorry about that, but my pen just happened to drop."

To be honest, I didn't recognise the prosecutor of my case today, but, like all of the prosecutors I've seen in my life and in the stories of Phoenix's old cases, he had a unique feature that made him memorable like the rest of them. I mean, he fit in with the prosecutor that had a whip, the one who was a coffee addict and remind me of Cyclops, and the rock star prosecutor. The one thing that stood out in my mind about this guy was the feminine-coloured suit and ruffled piece of cloth hanging around his neck. He pulled off a rather sophisticated air as he stood across from my mentor.

Speaking of my "mentor", Phoenix was snickering.

"Hey Edgeworth!" he called out to the prosecutor on the other side. "Since when did you have glasses?"

And already 'Edgeworth' was uncomfortable. He glared at Phoenix with his palm flat on the desk. "And I thought you had been disbarred, Wright." he replied, trying to keep his voice calm and unwavering.

"Some things change." was Phoenix's simple reply.

The judge banged the gavel. "Will the defense and the prosecution please refrain from bantering so we may proceed with this trial?" he stated with a hint of annoyance.

"Yes, Your Honor." the two said in unison.

I sighed. I remembered something I had read in one of Phoenix's files. The two were rivals, but outside of court, they were childhood friends.

This was going to be a long trial.

A/N: Sorry for the long update, but terrible chapter. Kinda typing this on the road... on the bright side, at least I've been enjoying the real life. So yes, I am apologizing to people reading this because I was enjoying life. And so this time around, I have decided to cut it short... only because I suck at writing trial chapters. I need to pool a few ideas before I can continue.

So there! Edgeworth is the prosecutor AND has glasses! Phoenix is defending Apollo too! Will he backstab Apollo to save himself or would he reveal his ungodly deeds to the court somehow? (You know, the answer is pretty obvious, so I'm making this a rhetorical question.)

One last question to end today... do you think Apollo made the right to choice allowing Phoenix to be his defense attorney? =P


	12. The Truth Begins

_Success builds character... failure reveals it.  
~Dave Checkett~_

_"Mr. Edgeworth!" The voice rang clearly through the small speaker that was embedded in my cell phone. It was none other than my subordinate Dick Gumshoe. _

_"What is it?" I feared that my office overseas was on fire due to the detective's incompetence and terrible cleaning style. _

_"It's him! He's back!"_

_"What do you mean? Speak clearly Gumshoe or at this month's salary review, you may find yourself having to pay to work!"_

_Gumshoe sure did make sure to enunciate properly this time around. "Your old rival! I just saw him walk into the Detention Centre in his suit! Mr. Wright!"_

_My mind was feeling foggy. I knew where Gumshoe was heading at, but it seemed as though I wasn't willing to accept it. "What are you talking about, Gumshoe?" I sighed._

_"Mr. Wright's a lawyer again!"_

_My suspicions were confirmed. As far as I knew, Phoenix Wright was disbarred after presenting forged evidence and couldn't be a lawyer anymore because of that event. I had been overseas at the time and felt guilty that I wasn't there to help him at the time. I wouldn't believe the news until a year later when I built up the courage to call him. Of course, that was where I heard the horse's mouth confirm it himself. After that, I had stayed in Europe and continued my prosecuting career there. I would never allow myself to go back in fear of what I would find. _

_But now that I have heard this news, I was in shock. The phone began to slip out of my hands and I fumbled to regain control of my now clammy hands and catch the phone before it hit the floor. _

_"Give me all of the details!" I found myself snapping into the phone while holding it upside-down. However, my voice was loud and clear enough to reach the speaker anyways. "And spread the news."_

_"Yes sir!" he replied. "...but what news are you talking about?"_

_"The news that I will be the one prosecuting that case."_

* * *

Chapter Twelve: The Truth Begins

"Mr. Edgeworth, your opening statements, please." said the Judge. In response, the prosecution nodded, not like the cocky bow I know he does. I can tell that there really has been a change in his personality. I was aware that he had been away on business in Europe all of this time, but I was surprised to see his presence here. He probably came here as soon as he could when he heard that I was the defense in this case. Guess he's been wanting to face-off with me once more like the good old times.

But like I said before, there was a change in his personality.  
I picked it up back in that case when Shelly de Killer kidnapped Maya, but it's stronger than ever here.

But maybe I'm just confusing things.  
Maybe he just looks more sophisticated in my eyes because of those glasses. What's up with those anyways?

Edgeworth coughed. "Er... Wright?"

I glanced up at him and realized that I had spaced out. "...yeah?" I replied sheepishly, trying to cover up my mistake. How could I lose my focus on the first trial I've had in about eight years? I shook it off and looked up, trying to keep my concentration.

"So, do you have any questions or comments?" Edgeworth called out.

"Umm... no. None at all."

"So you agree?"

"Er... sure."

Edgeworth then made a loud noise of amusement and gave me a wide grin. "Well, I had been expecting more of a challenge, but I guess that settles it!" His tone of voice was annoying me and I knew I had just missed something important.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Apollo hissed. "I thought-"

"As you can see, Your Honor, even the defense agrees that the defendant, Mr. Justice, killed our victim!" Edgeworth concluded. "I guess now would be an appropriate time to declare a verdict..?"

"Seeing that the defense has unfortunately already agreed to the charges, I see no further argument-"

"OBJECTION!" I shouted. I had no clue what I had accidentally agreed to, but I guess this is what I get for dozing off in the middle of a murder trial (It wasn't even the middle of the trial yet! It just started!). I felt as though any experience I've gained in the three years as a lawyer have fled me and I was a rookie once more. There really is a difference from being the aide and guide to a rookie lawyer and being put on the spot as the lawyer himself.

I'm ashamed I've forgotten so much.

"I'm sorry, Your Honor. I wasn't paying attention to the prosecution's opening statements." I replied quickly. "The defense asks that the prosecution makes their opening statements a little more... interesting so everyone else in the courtroom doesn't doze off in utter boredom." The whole courtroom chuckled a little as I gave Edgeworth a witty smile. Edgeworth just shot me a glare back.

"I don't know what has happened to you these past eight years, but you've changed Wright." Edgeworth exclaimed. "Please try to take this seriously for your client and for yourself. This is a murder trial, not stand-up comedy night."

Wow, Edgeworth sure is uptight today.

"-and I am NOT uptight!" Edgeworth hissed.

* * *

And so the trial moved on in a pretty usual pace. Edgeworth presented evidence to prove Apollo guilty and I managed to counter most of them with contradictions. However, the ones I missed began to pile up and a story that apparently depicted the murder started to form.

Apparently, something was going on between the victim, Alena Maldonado, and Apollo (when Edgeworth stated this, Apollo sure did argue loudly against this and was almost held in contempt of court). Because of this conflict, Apollo aggressively beat her (again Apollo argued loudly against this) and as soon as she managed to make it out the door, Apollo chased after her and shot her just as she knocked him out. Apparently, Alena is a black belt in karate, so the court had no problem believing Edgeworth's theory of her knocking him out. There were no eye-witnesses in the case because there was no one there at the time (I found this strange because the murder took place right in an apartment, but I guess Apollo just happened to have a bad day).

Of course, I know that Apollo did none of this, which is why I'm defending him from the charges right now. The only thing is, with this undeniable story, I had no evidence to counter it. Edgeworth had presented his proof and built up a powerful case. Unfortunately, even though I knew who the killer was and with all the evidence staring me at the face begging for me to use them, there was no proof at the scene connecting him to it so I was at a loss. I couldn't even confess to save Apollo. I couldn't even throw out one more random piece of evidence to the court (like trial and error) and make up some unbelievable story to prove Apollo innocent without the Judge giving up on me and doubtlessly giving a "Guilty" verdict. Now Apollo has to go to jail for my deeds and I had no means to stop it.

"Alright, if the defense has no more comments..." the Judge started."...then I have no choice but to declare my verdict." I could feel Apollo's eyes boring into the side of my head, but I didn't turn to face him. We both knew that the Judge was about to declare him "Guilty".

"Aw, that was pathetic, Wright." Edgeworth taunted. I gave him the same glare he gave me earlier in the trial, but he didn't waver. "I was hoping that you would put up more of a vehement fight. I guess these past eight years wore you down. I overestimated you."

His words cut through me like dipping my hand in a bucket of glass shards in cold water. It was cold and painful. I knew that I shouldn't be giving up like this, but what else could I do? Any tactics that I can remember learning from my mentor and any I happened to pick up on my own were trumped by Edgeworth.

Maybe this is for the better of things. I mean, at least I won't be convicted for murder.  
But thinking like that only made me beat myself up even more. Thinking like that was selfish. I can't let the truth slip by through an act of selfishness.

"I hereby find the defendant, Mr. Apollo Justice, Gui-"

"OBJECTION!"

I was sweating everywhere. I didn't know what I was doing now. I know that I had given up, but my body sure didn't feel like it. I had shouted out and pointed out of reflex. Though my mind was telling me I had given up, my heart sure felt ready for more fighting.

Though this can be a problem.

"Edgeworth, you're wrong!" I stated with a clamorous voice. "The fight's not over yet. In fact..."

In fact... I had no clue where I was going with this.

"...Your Honor!" My finger zipped from pointing to Edgeworth's face to the Judge's. "I ask for a thirty minute recess. I need to prepare something."

"And what is this, 'something', Mr. Wright?" the Judge asked. Thank God he could tell that it was important. "And why should we be compelled to listen. I was prepared to give a verdict..."

"You'll see, Your Honor!" I replied with a cryptic smirk. "I know that Apollo is not the killer, but I need to get ready."

"OBJECTION!"

My gaze turned over to Edgeworth. "And why, I dare ask, did you decide to show us this evidence now?" Edgeworth asked. "Why couldn't you have shown us this 'evidence' a few moments ago while we were still in the heat of the moment?"

"Simple." I replied. "I just didn't think that the trial would progress to this point so quickly."

"Wright, stop talking nonsense!" Edgeworth snapped. His cravat sure was losing its fluff in my eyes. "Is it more of that 'forged evidence'? Have you not been rid of your forging habit?" So he's heard the old news. Go figure.

"I know from what it looks like my actions seem kind of suspicious, but Your Honor, you have got to listen to me. The court has to duty to listen to everything on this case to find the truth and there is one more piece of evidence that we need to find that truth. Edgeworth's story is contradictory and this evidence of which I speak of will point out that contradiction. Please Your Honor! It will only take thirty minutes!"

The Judge didn't even waste time thinking about it. "Alright, Mr. Wright, I will grant you thirty minutes. I just hope that this will be worthwhile and not just a plan to stall for time. I will not tolerate such behaviour."

"Thank you, Your Honor." I replied gratefully. The thing is, I actually was stalling. Well, this IS better than a "Guilty" verdict so soon. As soon as the court was dismissed for recess, I grabbed Apollo from the defendant's stand and dragged him over to the defendant lobby.

* * *

My trial was flying by before my eyes. Next thing I knew, Mr. Wright just barely managed to avoid a "Guilty" verdict and now I was being dragged by the collar of my vest by Mr. Wright out of the courtroom and into the defendant's lobby where he dropped me onto the couch, thought about something, then abruptly picked me up and made me stand.

"M-Mr. Wright..."

"Apollo, don't panic now. I'm pretty sure that you'll be just fine. I promised you that I wouldn't get you a 'Guilty' verdict and that's what I intend to plan right now."

"Didn't you tell me that you already knew who the murderer of this case is? Why don't you bring him or her to the stand?"

Mr. Wright gave me a dark glare that made me glance away and stare in the direction of the door. I saw someone enter.

"What do you think, I'm trying to do, Justice?" Mr. Wright muttered to himself. "I'm thinking of how to bring said murderer into the court and how to prove that he did it!"

"But Wright-"

"Not now, Justice!" Mr. Wright thrust his hand forward, expecting to push me out of the way, but I wasn't the one who spoke up. Mr. Wright found his hand amongst white fluffy fabric and immediately brought his arm back to his side. He then looked up.

"Oh, I'm sorry about that Edgeworth." I noticed that his face had immediately relaxed a bit at the sight of the prosecutor. He wasn't the least bit threatened by his presence. I, on the other hand, was. This was the guy who was trying to get me into prison.

Edgeworth smirked. "It's alright." He then re-adjusted his glasses, but not in the same manner my old mentor, Kristoph Gavin, had. "What I would like to know is 'what the hell do you think you're doing'?"

Whoa, out of character.

"I'm trying to get Apollo his well-deserved 'Not Guilty' verdict, Edgeworth." Mr. Wright simply stated to the prosecutor. Edgeworth looked amused.

"I guess you are." he replied. "But along the way, you seem to have lost your sight of the truth. You've become like the old me, trying to get your verdict in any way possible-"

"OBJECTION!" Mr. Wright seemed rather bothered by that comment. "In all honesty Edgeworth, I believe in my client just as you have learned to prosecute in search of the truth. I am absolutely positive that Apollo Justice is innocent of this crime and I intend to prove it in that court today. Now please leave and allow me to revise my strategy in peace unless you have something to say about anything other than this matter."

I could see the look of disappointment in Mr. Edgeworth's eyes. He was about to counter Mr. Wright, but he dropped it and started to walk out of the lobby slowly. Just before Mr. Edgeworth walked out the door, Mr. Wright called out to him once more.

"Thanks for coming all this way, Edgeworth. I won't let your troubles go to vain."

Edgeworth looked over his shoulder and smiled back. "Just the sight of you in your rightful place behind the defense table is enough." And so the frilly prosecutor walked out.

Mr. Wright and I seemed to sigh in utter relief. "So what are we going to do about that murderer, Mr. Wright?" I asked.

"I have to make a few phone calls first." he replied. He then walked over to the pay phone after asking me for some change. He dialled a number which I recognised as the number for the precinct. Of course he of all people would memorize a number like that. He began to talk into the receiver and though I couldn't hear what he was saying, from the look on his face, the two were talking about something of dire importance.

"-Alright, thank you Detective." Mr. Wright hung up the phone and then walked back over to where I was sitting on the couch. He quickly thought about something again and immediately proceeded to pull me out of my relaxing position. I had just finally warmed up the seat too.

"Don't ever sit on that couch, you hear?" Mr. Wright told me sternly. All I could do was nod in reply.

"So how's that surprise evidence coming along?" I asked.

"It's fine. Detective Gumshoe should bring it here in a few minutes." Mr. Wright sighed.

He then took a seat on the couch behind me.

* * *

I was beat in every aspect. It was as though I was at wits end. To be honest, the only thing pushing me forward to getting the "real killer" convicted was my conscious and my belief in Apollo's innocence. Either I managed to lose a lot of valuable skill and experience in those weary eight years or I was just letting myself, in a way, commit suicide in a court of law.

Just ten minutes before we were to resume the court proceedings, Gumshoe bursts into the defendant's lobby with the decisive piece of evidence I had told him to bring. It was the duffel bag I threw out along with another bag with various items from my office (which I happened to leave alone

"Here, Mr. Wright..." He was panting like a dog, bent over with his hands on his knees. He was so tired; he couldn't even stand up straight. "Straight from your office..."

"Thank you, Gumshoe. You're a real lifesaver." I smiled to myself at how ironic that remark was, but Gumshoe didn't see through it and just gave me a wide grin.

"No problem, pal. I still owe ya anyway." (I can't remember why he owes me anything, but it's good to have something like that underneath your belt.)

I then noticed Apollo looking over my shoulder in an attempt to look inside the duffel bag. I immediately zip it closed before he had a chance to figure out the contents of the bag. I hear him silently moan in frustration, and then jump right in front of me.

"Mr. Wright, you've gotta tell me what's in that bag!" Apollo complained. Of course, I couldn't reveal the contents of it to him or he would obviously object.

"I'm sorry, Justice, but I can't exactly disclose to you that information right now, even though you are my defendant. But have faith in me as this will be the evidence that will prove you guilty." I hated having to always sound so mysterious in front of him, but it's the only way I know how to give him relief (what relief, Wright?) while at the same time obscuring information.

"May the defendant and his defense attorney please report to the courtroom immediately?" the court bailiff called out to us by the door. He then headed over to the prosecutors' lobby to inform Edgeworth of the news as well.

"Alright, it's show time!" I made a wide grin and showed it off to Apollo. He nervously smiled at me back.

I let out a deep sigh in defeat and walked towards the courtroom, Apollo quickly catching up.

What I said was true.  
It's show time!

* * *

A/N: Haha, there are probably soo many contradictions in this chapter towards the rest of the story... I hope you guys didn't think the story was dead... it's just that I went on vacation (where I typed up about half of this crap), then I started to work for some money, then high school! Sorry for not working on my fanfics as much as I had hoped from the start... on the bright side, a lot of behind the scenes work has been accomplished, though I doubt any regular updating schedule is about to begin.

In other words, I'm SOO sorry! I've been WAY too lazy for my liking lately and now look what happened. I promise I'll make it up to you all somehow by disclosing this: considering that we're in the trial part of the story, I estimate that there are probably, at most, seven chapters left till the end. Can't wait! =)

...

_A couple of months after writing the above:_

I finished this chapter about a couple of months ago, but decided not to upload it till I got up to Chapter 15. The reason for the utter delay is this:

1) Writer's Block  
2) I've been more focused on another fanfic (Lost Hope) in the Trauma Center genre than this one.

This story isn't dead; it couldn't be considering how much planning I had done over the course of the long delay. I have the next few chapters planned out and three of them ahead of this are already completed (the end is near... there is no need to worry). However, there will continue to be a long delay because I want to finish my other fanfic first (I've put a ton of effort on it too... much more than I have been here; no offence).

Oh yeah, but on the bright side, ever since my laziness from the beginning of this story, my writing style has improved drastically (I'm used to writing chapters with at least 6000 words these days unlike the 3000 words or less you see here). So the next few chapters will be much more complex and lengthy than this... I can't wait for its completion too.

So see you all next chapter!  
And I apologize for absolutely everything!

~PXLight~


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